Episode #86 "Boys do Cry" Trigger warning- we discuss suicide and what to do about it- prevention. Sunlight Centre opens a door to prevent suicide in our community. Ken Loftus, 20 yrs as a counsellor

Hello everyone, this is such an important and very delicate conversation with an expert. I do hope you find useful resources and compassion in this podcast.   If you are struggling and have suicidal thoughts, please know you are not alone and help is available. Please contact any one of the following organisations in Australia are listed below, at the bottom of this post."Boys do Cry"In this episode we discuss suicide and suicide prevention with an expert that has helped people for the last 20 yrs.   Suicide Helplines are listed below. If you are struggling and have suicidal thoughts, please know you are not alone and help is available. Please contact any one of the following organisations in Australia that are listed below.Shining Sunlight that opens a door to prevent suicide in our community. Ken Loftus, 20 yrs experience as a counsellor and Founder of the Sunlight Centre. Ken has been working in the Healthy Mind field for over 20 years, and moved to Brisbane 5 years ago from Ireland. Ken has worked in residential care with under 18's, suicidal crises centres and school settings, and founded the Sunlight Centre 4 years ago in South Brisbane. Ken's favourite therapy is CBT and loves Evolutionary Psychology too!More details about this important podcast can be read on my blog post.https://www.profselenabartlett.com/post/trigger-warning-topic-is-suicide-prevention-with-ken-loftus-founder-the-sunlight-centreWe are all normal and abnormal across our lifespans"People may feel like they’re abnormal if they are told, “You have an anxiety disorder, you have a depressive disorder.” Talk with them a little bit about the fact that there are advantages to anxiety and that low moods might have meaning. It might not just be something that’s broken in you, it might be that your emotions are trying to tell you something. I think that makes many people feel less like they’re defective" .Why 75% male and 25% female suicide, we discuss the role of evolutionary psychology?Ken discusses the possibility of this arising ~50, 000 yrs ago, where the men heading the tribe had to be physically strong, for the whole tribe to survive.  Being seen as weak becomes  a problem to our very survival and being the chief of the tribe.Ken realised not enough was being done to actively help the youth and adults in suicidal distress. Ken was told stories of people who had asked for help and were told to “go to A&E”, or “Go home and go to your GP tomorrow”, and “You need a Mental Health Plan”, and knew more needed to be done. The Sunlight Centre was created in 2017 and began seeing its first client in October. As a new charity, grants and funds were hard to come by, so Ken and his team created their own fundraising events to help keep the doors open and the lights on in the Sunlight Centre. With that came unique fundraisers such as our Retro Movie Nights, and ANON, the Sunlight Centre’s annual anonymous art exhibition.During Ken’s studies obtaining his Psychology and Psychoanalysis degree, he started his work in Child Protection and mental health with residential care work. After returning from travelling, Ken worked in the ISPCC as a national supervisor for Childline, where he trained volunteers around Ireland in Active Listening skills, Children’s First and Child Protection policies and procedures.Ken moved back towards residential care work as a Social Care Team Leader, and during this time he completed his Diploma in Clinical and Therapeutic Guided Imagery and then his integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist Diploma.After working as a tutor in St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, CanSupport the showSubscribe and support the podcast at https://www.buzzsprout.com/367319/supporters/newLearn more at www.profselenabartlett.com