31st January 2024: NSPA Annual Conference

National Suicide Prevention Conference January 2024: The New Suicide Prevention Strategy and 10 years of the NSPA: Where do we go from here?

About the event

With the new national strategy for suicide prevention in England now published, the NSPA’s 10th annual conference will mark just over 10 years since the alliance was formed. We have been in a space of reflection, thinking about what’s changed in suicide prevention and what we’ve learnt over the past decade. We’ve been taking time to speak with members and the wider sector to understand how the strategy has landed and what is needed in suicide prevention in these challenging times. We invite all those committed to playing their part to reduce suicides, from across the public, private and voluntary sectors, to join us at The Kia Oval as we set out our vision for the NSPA and implementation of the strategy. 

We will continue the conversations from last year’s conference: Suicide prevention is everybody’s business but we recognise that all too often, there are groups that find it harder to access relevant support, and experience higher rates of suicide. Collaboration, community engagement and working with those with lived experience of suicide are central to better understanding and responding to the needs of lesser heard and lesser seen groups and our workshops will have a focus on this. 

Bringing the suicide prevention community together to save lives 

The NSPA conference will once again be in person in London, offering people working to prevent suicide a chance to connect with each other. The event brings together over 300 individuals and organisations with a professional and personal interest in suicide prevention, to share the latest knowledge and information, explore opportunities for collaboration, engage with people who have lived experience of suicide, and hear first-hand what the government is going to do on this issue.    

Diverse topics, interactive workshops  

Keynote speakers include Professor Sir Louis Appleby, Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory group speaking on the new suicide prevention strategy and an invitation has been extended to the Minister responsible for suicide prevention. 

A mixture of informative plenaries and interactive workshops will explore the importance of working collaboratively with communities and facilitating lived experience learning spaces; understanding the needs of and working with LGBTQ+ communities, the Jewish community, minority ethnic groups and children and young people; suicide risk among perpetrators of domestic abuse; and acceptability, ethics and effectiveness of approaches to suicide prevention in public places. 

Agenda and Speakers

The conference starts at 9.45am, with registration from 9am, and closes at 4.30pm. 

The full agenda can be found here. 

Full line up of Plenary speakers:

• Professor Sir Louis Appleby, Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group will be speaking about the new strategy.
• Dr Chloe Beale, Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist, Homerton University Hospital will be talking about suicide and the misuse of capacity law.
• Nav Mirza, CEO and Gemma Lawson, Head of Mental Health from Dad’s Unlimited will sharing their work supporting men experiencing family separation.
• York Ending Stigma will be speaking about the importance, value and learnings from their lived experience led suicide prevention campaign work.
• Our Lived Experience Influencers, along with Jess Worner, NSPA Lived Experience Network Manager will be leading a panel discussion.

Workshop speakers include:

Viv Bickham, Practice Advisor, Safelives 

Luke Kendall, Practice Advisor, Drive Project, Respect UK 

Jay-Marie Mackenzie, Reader, University of Westminster 

Professor Lisa Marzano, Professor of Psychology, University of Middlesex 

Dr Ian Marsh, Suicide-Safer Lead and Reader & Research Supervisor, Canterbury Christchurch University 

Michelle Stebbings, Executive Lead, Support After Suicide Partnership 

Anne Embury, Suicide Liaison Service Lead, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 

Philippa Carr, Head of Education and Suicide Prevention, Jami UK 

Seher Kayikci, Senior Public Health Strategist, London Borough of Barnet 

Catherine Phillips, Project Lead Stepping Back Safely, Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust 

Sue Willgoss, Advisor for Suicide Prevention with Lived Experience, Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust 

Deirdre Williams, Associate Chief Psychological Professions Officer, Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust 

Book now – tickets on sale

Tickets cost £160 + VAT per person – click here to book now  

Book now to secure your first choice workshops. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis. 

NSPA Members can take advantage of a discount code on up to two tickets if you booked by the 30^th November. 

This discount is designed to help individuals or smaller charities attend. Please consider buying a full price ticket if your organisation can afford to cover the cost of this conference. 

Sponsorship opportunities

Be a visible part of a life-saving conference. 

Our annual conference is the leading event for cross-industry professionals and people with lived experience of suicide to share best practice and new approaches in suicide prevention.  

Speakers at previous conferences have included the Government Minister for Suicide Prevention, The Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, leading academics and people with lived experience of suicide. 

NSPA has a restricted budget and wants to make this conference affordable for our members.  We cannot cover the cost of this conference through ticket sales alone and need sponsorship to ensure a high quality experience. 

If you’d like to find out more about sponsoring the event, email Events@nspa.org.uk.