Schools fear talk of suicide will increase the risks

Some schools are shying away from inviting mental health professionals to talk to their pupils about suicide because of a fear that talking about it will increase the risk.

Laura Maybury, head of clinical services at Cork Counselling Services (CCS), said: “The myth is that if we talk about suicide, it will put it in people’s heads.”

She said there had been a couple of schools over the years who “were initially interested in our Suicide Prevention Programme, but then withdrew”.