What we do
My therapist struck just the right balance between making me feel comfortable and then probing a bit deeper with his questions. After six weeks of treatment I felt in a good enough place to move on, and now a few months later I’m feeling mentally strong enough to get back to work.
Bailey
We help men in suicidal crisis find hope for the future.
We offer free, life-saving treatment to suicidal men in London, the North East and the North West. We provide a safe, friendly, therapeutic environment in which men are cared for and respected. Our mission is to help men aged 18+ who are in crisis, by providing quick access to short and focused one to one therapy which will help them to understand and recover from a suicidal crisis.
Our trained, professional therapists get quickly to the heart of a man’s suicidal crisis, and help him solve it.
We offer an individualised person-centred intervention delivered over six to eight face to face sessions with an experienced therapist at our centres in Liverpool, London and Newcastle. Men can self-refer or be referred by a professional including those working in health and community services, or by a friend or family member
Our team offers talking therapy to men who have arrived at a crisis point largely driven by life events such as a relationship breakdown, financial problems or bereavement. James’ Place does not offer longer-term mental health or psychotherapeutic support, but supports the person emotionally through the crisis period, helping them to access any longer-term support they may require via other services. We do not replicate or replace existing statutory services, but instead work closely with the local NHS and wider services to ensure the right men are referred to our service, and supported when they leave it.
What makes us different
- Treatment – Our treatment works. Men experience a clinically and statistically significant positive change following treatment and reduced levels of psychological distress.
- Time – We see men quickly with no waiting list.
- People – All our therapists are trained professionals. Men have the same therapist throughout their treatment.
- Place – We deliver treatment in our safe, friendly and non-clinical centres in Liverpool, London and Newcastle.
- Partners – We work alongside the NHS and other local support services, taking on clinical responsibility for the men we treat.
Our model
The James’ Place model consists of five components: environment, suicide prevention therapists, partnerships/referral pathways, rapid access to the service and the innovative ‘Lay your cards on the Table’ intervention. We use sets of cards to help the men we support talk about how they are feeling and what is going on in their lives throughout their sessions with us.
James’ Place is independently evaluated using the Core Outcome model, which shows that all men who have attended at James’ Place to date have experienced a clinically and statistically significant positive change.
Support post treatment
After men have finished their treatment we signpost men to longer-term support they may require via other services.
We have a team of fantastic volunteer mentors in London and Liverpool who offer support and encouragement to men who have used our service after their intervention has ended.
In London we currently run a peer support group every 2 weeks for men who have completed the James’ Place intervention and is facilitated by a James’ Place therapist. This group will run for 6 months and offers a place for men to meet and discuss any challenges they have faced since leaving James’ Place, and to discuss coping strategies. We hope that this will help men stay motivated, find new ways to cope and stay out of crisis.
How it works
At James’ Place we try to make it as easy as possible to find help in a suicidal crisis.