I work for Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust as a registered mental health nurse and, following my Fellowship, my job title is Lead for Suicide Prevention. My Fellowship topic was Supporting Clients to Live when Suicide is an Option.

I had been bereaved by suicide when my brother took his own life in 1997 after years of poor mental health. Working in mental health services, I became more and more interested in how we can support people who struggle with suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

I travelled to the USA in 2014, and met with Dr Thomas Joiner and Dr David Jobes who are both researchers and academics leading the way in this field. I met with other experts working in the zero suicide ambition, and attended a fascinating suicide prevention conference in Los Angeles.

I returned to the UK with the confidence to develop a suicide prevention model for secondary mental health services. This model is called I CARED +Shared and is a memorable way to remember the steps of a suicide intervention as each letter represents a part of the process. It stands for I (In case of emergency) C (Connect) A (Ask) R (Review risk) E (Enable safety) D (Document) S (Share).