I read with a lot of dismay at the recent news relating to how a best friend allowed her friend to commit suicide. It all goes to show that if you truly want to be a friend, you need to know what to do.
A process of risk assessment is usually in order, and you have to make sure anyone whom you remotely think is going to commit suicide be referred to a trained specialist who can deal with such isses.
Most of the time, suicidal people say they want to do it not because they want to die but because they are looking for another opinion. I think your friends will deserve at least a second opinion when coming to this kind of a decision.
Suicidal thoughts are aplenty, but best friends are not. Get yourself trained in basic counseling skills and Google the numbers of professional counselors and the Samaritans Of Singapore. You’ll never know when you’ll need them!
Stuart Tan, MBA, SDCG, BA (Hons), is a Licensed NLP Trainer since 1997, a trained counselor and therapist since 1999, and a leadership, team performance and change management consultant. He certifies NLP Practitioners and Master Practitioners through a competency based approach. He is also an executive coach and life coach.
Contact him for information about his corporate seminars, certification workshops and coaching services.