Black Dog Institute
The Black Dog Institute is a medical research Institute and a global leader in translational mental health research, with a vision of a mentally healthier world.
Black Dog Institute utilizes the latest technology to rapidly implement new scientific discoveries into real-world settings. Conducting world-class research, the team at Black Dog Institute investigates the causes of mental illness and drives evidence-based treatments and solutions that improve lives.
Founded in 2002, Black Dog Institute's areas of strength include suicide prevention, e-mental health, workplace mental health, novel treatments and prevention in young people.
Based in Sydney, Black Dog Institute reduces stigma and encourages help-seeking through evidence-informed education programs in schools, communities, healthcare settings and workplaces nationally.
About
Audiences
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Adults
- Older persons
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
- Veteran
- Workforce
- Business
- Educators/Teachers
- Emergency services
- Professional
- Public Service
- Small Business
Activities
- Provides Policy Information
- Conducts Research
- Provides Factsheets
Organisation Type
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
- Charitable
- Clinical
- Community
- Education (early childhood to high school)
- Health service
- Not-for-profit
- Research
Affiliations
- UNSW Sydney, Prince of Wales Hospital
Our Programs and Services
Program Type
- Data surveillance, screening and reporting
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Adults
- Older persons
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
- Veteran
- Workforce
- Educators/Teachers
- Emergency services
Location
- National
Program Type
- Public awareness
- Education and community engagement
- Training
Audience
- Children or young people
- Adults
- Older persons
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
- Veteran
- Workforce
- Educators/Teachers
- Emergency services
Location
- National
Service Type
- Education and community engagement
- Training
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Adults
- Older persons
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
- Workforce
- Educators/Teachers
- Emergency services
Location
- National
Service Type
- Education and community engagement
- Resilience and wellbeing
- Training
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
Location
- National
Program Type
- Data surveillance, screening and reporting
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
Location
- National
Service Type
- Clinical care
- Infrastructure services
- Information and referral services
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Adults
- Older persons
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with a disability(s)
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
- Veteran
- Workforce
- Educators/Teachers
- Emergency services
Location
- New South Wales
Service Type
- Education and community engagement
- Lived experience and peer support
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
Location
- National
Service Type
- Personal support
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Adults
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
Location
- National
Service Type
- Education and community engagement
- Resilience and wellbeing
- Training
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Adults
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
Location
- National
Service Type
- Training
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Adults
- Older persons
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with a disability(s)
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
- Veteran
- Workforce
- Educators/Teachers
- Emergency services
Location
- National
Service Type
- Clinical care
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Adults
- Older persons
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
- Veteran
- Workforce
- Educators/Teachers
- Emergency services
Location
- New South Wales
Service Type
- Education and community engagement
- Training
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
- Workforce
- Educators/Teachers
- Emergency services
Location
- National
Service Type
- Education and community engagement
- Training
Audience
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Children or young people
- Adults
- Older persons
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
- Veteran
- Workforce
- Educators/Teachers
- Emergency services
Location
- National
Our Resources
About the Black Dog Institute
Watch Video
Video from www.youtube.com
iBobbly App
Suicide rates in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are amongst the highest in the world. Despite increased funding and implementation of new prevention programs, very few indigenous people will seek help before acting on suicidal thoughts.
iBobbly is a trial of the world’s first suicide prevention app designed especially for use by Indigenous people on mobile phones or tablet devices.
Called iBobbly (a name derived from a Kimberley greeting), the app delivers treatment-based therapy in a culturally relevant way.
Watch Video
Video from www.youtube.com
LifeSpan
A video explaining the role of LifeSpan in suicide prevention
Watch Video
Video from www.youtube.com
A comparison of multi-component systems approaches to suicide prevention
The Journal of Australasian Psychiatry published work by Black Dog Institute researchers, comparing LifeSpan to other suicide prevention models internationally.
Download PDF/Document
PDF/Document from journals.sagepub.com
Black Dog Institute Fact Sheets
Black Dog Institute provides a range of free factsheets and resources to educate people about mental health research and treatments. These cover such topics as: depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, workplace mental health, adolescents and young people’s mental health, suicide prevention, e-mental health, positive psychology and wellbeing.
Download Fact sheet
Fact sheet from www.blackdoginstitute.org.au
Exploration & Design: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide crisis support and aftercare workshop
This report summarises the findings of a workshop co-hosted by the Black Dog Institute and Country South Australia Primary Health Network. The session focused on suicidal crisis and follow-up care in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, bringing professional and cultural expertise together to explore culturally appropriate suicide prevention strategies and interventions.
Download PDF/Document
PDF/Document from www.blackdoginstitute.org.au
Free School Resources
The Black Dog Institute offers a range of free evidence-based educational resources, designed for teachers, young people and parents. These school resources can help secondary educators with building mental health and wellbeing education into their curriculum, and include online interactive short-courses for students and ready-to-use classroom activities.
Download
A resource from www.blackdoginstitute.org.au
Guidelines for Integrated suicide-related crisis and follow-up care in Emergency Departments and other acute settings
These guidelines are based on the input of people with a lived experience of suicide and leading clinicians. They aim to help those working in acute settings to inform service planning, better equip and support staff to work effectively with those at risk of suicide, and guide empathetic, compassionate responses to people experiencing a suicidal crisis.
Download Intervention resources
Intervention resources from www.blackdoginstitute.org.au
Lived Experience Framework (LifeSpan)
The Black Dog Institute’s Lived Experience Framework was developed to outline recommendations for effectively engaging people with lived experience of suicidality, bereavement by suicide and mental illness. It was also created with reviews from their families, support people and carers of those with lived experiences. Key insights from the Framework inform Black Dog’s implementation of the LifeSpan systems approach to suicide prevention.
Download Intervention resources
Intervention resources from www.blackdoginstitute.org.au
Prevention of Depression and Anxiety: Quick guide to evidence-based school programs
Black Dog researchers co-led an evaluation of various psychological programs, designed to prevent depression and/or anxiety in children and adolescents within schools. These programs consist of both online modules and face-to-face programs, offered to both primary and high school students.
Download PDF/Document
PDF/Document from www.blackdoginstitute.org.au
Tensions in perspectives on suicide prevention between men who have attempted suicide and their support networks: Secondary analysis of qualitative data
Black Dog Institute researchers led this study exploring the views of at-risk men, and their friends and family about the tensions inherent in suicide prevention. Participants recounted their experiences of the men’s suicide attempts and associated help-seeking, and suggested ways in which suicide prevention activities may be improved.
Download Journal article
Journal article from onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The aftermath of Aboriginal suicide: Lived experience as the missing foundation for suicide prevention and postvention
Researchers with Black Dog Institute’s LifeSpan published a research paper which highlights the systematic and theoretical barriers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been bereaved by suicide. The paper incorporates the lived experiences and professional experiences of advocates, and explores the importance of including lived experiences within programs for Indigenous suicide prevention.
Download Journal article
Journal article from journalindigenouswellbeing.com
Warning signs for suicide and self-harm
The Black Dog Institute website includes resources to educate people on the warning signs of suicide and self-harm, and on how to act swiftly to seek help accordingly. If you're concerned that someone is thinking about taking their own life, it's important to talk to them by being kind and direct. Suicide can be prevented by recognising the warning signs and knowing the four steps to help prevent suicide. They are:
1. Ask – asking decreases risk.
2. Listen and Stay – check their safety, don’t leave them alone.
3. Get Help – if someone’s life is in danger, call Emergency on 000; Lifeline on 13 11 14; or take them straight to Emergency at a hospital; see a GP or psychologist.
4. Follow Up – make sure you check up on the person often.
Visit Website
www.blackdoginstitute.org.au
What can be done to decrease suicidal behaviour in Australia? A call to action.
In Australia, suicide rates have continued to rise over the last decade which presents us with an urgent need to rethink our course of action.
One of the biggest challenges of contemporary suicide prevention is that initiatives, policies and programs to prevent and respond to suicide are often unable to benefit from research evidence. This is not so much because this evidence is ignored, but because in many cases it does not exist.
Building on the extensive efforts across the suicide prevention sector, Black Dog Institute has developed a white paper that takes a major step towards addressing this critical research gap.
This is a call to action, based on evidence, that aims to inform research, policy and service provision so we can reduce the number of Australian lives lost to suicide.
Download PDF/Document
PDF/Document - 2.66 MB
Care After a Suicide Attempt report
Researchers from Black Dog Institute prepared this report for the National Mental Health Commission. The report investigates the response of health services to people who had previously made a suicide attempt, aiming to provide a better understanding of what support people currently receive, how helpful or otherwise these services are, and the barriers to improvement.
Download PDF/Document
PDF/Document from www.blackdoginstitute.org.au
Zero Suicide Healthcare Training
Advanced Training in Suicide Prevention aims to increase health professionals’ skills and confidence in taking a detailed suicide history and developing a collaborative management plan to increase the safety of people planning suicide.
The workshop provides practical tools for health professionals managing the full spectrum of suicide risk presentations, including the acute suicidal crisis, care after a suicide attempt, and assisting families experiencing suicide bereavement.
Please note: Training programs listed are accessed at the user's discretion and are not endorsed by Zero Suicide Institute of Australasia nor Life in Mind.
ZSH Element
- Identify
- Engage
Audience
- Allied Health Clinician
- Nursing
- Physician
Focus Area
- Aftercare and follow-up
- Collaborative safety planning for suicide
- Communicating with patients about suicide
- Determining appropriate levels of care for patients at risk of suicide
- Family, caregiver, and community supports
- Identifying risk factors for suicide
- Identifying warning signs for suicide
- Managing suicidal patients
- Suicide prevention and awareness
- Suicide risk formulation practices
- Suicide-specific treatment approaches
- Understanding and navigating ethical and legal considerations
Course Type
- Face-to-face
Cost
- Fee for service
Location
- National
This workshop has been designed to build on the current level of skills of school counselling staff, and to further develop confidence in undertaking risk assessments and safety planning for youth in distress.
In this highly interactive course, clinicians will have the opportunity to work on real case studies, reflect on their own experiences, and learn from peers.
The program has been developed based on extensive consultation with school psychologists and counsellors to identify the issues and solutions for dealing with complex cases in the school setting.
It is run by highly experienced clinicians with advanced group facilitation skills.
Please note: Training programs listed are accessed at the user's discretion and are not endorsed by Zero Suicide Institute of Australasia nor Life in Mind.
ZSH Element
- Engage
Audience
- Allied Health Clinician
Focus Area
- Aftercare and follow-up
- Collaborative safety planning for suicide
- Family, caregiver, and community supports
- Identifying risk factors for suicide
- Identifying warning signs for suicide
- Managing suicidal patients
- Suicide prevention and awareness
- Suicide risk formulation practices
- Understanding and navigating ethical and legal considerations
Course Type
- Face-to-face
Cost
- Fee for service
Location
- National
Gatekeeper Training
Audience
- Adults
Your Workforce
- Health/allied health staff
Location
- New South Wales
Course Type
- Face-to-face
Course Features
- Lived experience
Course Length
- 6 hours