Connect For Life - Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Literacy Program 2025 FAQ’s.

Why participate?

While participating in the Connect For Life Program may seem daunting due to the highly sensitive nature of the topic, there are many benefits and rewards, some of the key ones we have outlined below.

  1. Connection with others who have had similar lived experiences and the opportunity to share these experiences in a safe, non judgemental peer support space, guided by a professional suicide counsellor. This can create a strong sense of belonging and growth.

  2. You will learn how to use evidence based therapeutic photography as an alternative tool for reflection and expression, guided by a trained therapeutic arts practitioner. Learning how to use visual expression to communicate deep emotions and difficult experiences is extremely powerful, and something that can be used in your life beyond this program.

  3. Your perspective, wisdom and insight gained through lived experience is crucial in guiding change  towards reducing high suicide rates in the South Western Sydney region, along with tackling some of the myths and incorrect language that surround suicide. With your help we can work towards creating change from the individual level, all the way up to systems level change.

  4. Participation is free, and a nominal compensation fee will be paid in respect of your own knowledge and insights shared through artworks as a result of your lived experience.

What to expect and who we are looking for?

The program will run as three separate cohorts throughout 2025. The groups will be organised as follows. Please note, all participants must be over 18 and live in the South Western Sydney Primary Health Network geographic region. See map here.

  1. Carers of those with active suicidal ideation.

  2. Those who have experienced loss from suicide (bereavement).

  3. Those who have experienced suicidal ideation in the past, and now have a care plan in place.

Each group will run for eight weeks at a time and location within the South Western Sydney region that suits the majority of participants. We will try to make it as convenient as possible for everyone, and while we prefer face to face, we will offer the option to call in via video call for those who aren’t able to travel.

Each session will run for 2.5 - 3 hours and will be a combination of support group and therapeutic photography.

Throughout these sessions we will explore your identity, emotions, relationships and significant life events through a safe, trauma informed, professionally guided, evidence based process.

As a participant your consent is ongoing, meaning that you will always be in control of what and how much you are ready and willing to share with regards your lived experience.

After the eight week program, all participants will be invited to work together as a group to create a campaign of photographic images and text that respond to some of the key challenges facing us as a community with regards suicide prevention.

You will have the choice to participate in the campaign anonymously if you wish. Regardless of your approach we will guide and support you through this process to ensure your advocacy efforts are untaken in a way that puts your own wellbeing and safety at the fore.

Who is running the program?

Janine Walker from Ironbark Therapy is a specialist suicide counsellor and will be facilitating the peer support group. Learn more about Janine here.

Natalie Hunfalvay from Folkal is a therapeutic arts practitioner and will be guiding the therapeutic photography component. Learn more about Natalie here.

The program is funded by the South Western Sydney Primary Health Network (SWSPHN).

What is Peer Support?

Peer support is when individuals with similar experiences or challenges provide assistance, encouragement, and understanding to one another in a supportive and safe group setting. The primary focus is on shared experiences, fostering a sense of belonging, and promoting personal growth and coping strategies among peers.

What will be discussed?

In our peer support groups, we will thoughtfully explore various aspects of your journey in a safe and trauma-informed environment. This will include respectful and compassionate discussions about personal experiences, coping strategies, emotional support, triggers, safety plans, available resources, and themes of hope and recovery. Throughout our conversations, we are committed to maintaining confidentiality and fostering a non-judgmental, supportive, and compassionate atmosphere. This means we will respect each other’s stories and emotions, ensuring that everyone feels safe to participate and share openly. Together, we will create a community where healing is possible, and each person’s journey is valued and honoured.

What is Therapeutic Photography and PhotoVoice?

Therapeutic Photography is a structured, guided, evidence based approach that uses photography as a creative tool, allowing participants to create images aimed at exploration with specific, clearly defined outcomes. Folkal’s programs are unique in that they combine therapeutic photography, PhotoVoice methods and visual literacy. This allows us to work on the individual level, as well as more broadly on community and systems levels, harnessing the power of lived experience. No previous experience in photography or the arts is needed. No high end equipment is needed, a smart phone or simple camera that you are familiar with will work fine.

Often to express and process difficult topics, the use of metaphor and representation through imagery can be very powerful.

See our Case Studies to learn more.

Advocacy, Public Exhibits and Campaigns

Advocacy through lived experience can be challenging, but also immensely rewarding. You will be supported and guided through your advocacy journey with professionals that have your wellbeing and safety as the prime concern.

For this program a public exhibition of printed photographic works and captions will be held toward the end of 2025. An opening event with advocates as panel speakers, and hopefully influential policy makers, journalists, health professionals and more will take place. The goal of this event is to use the artworks that express the wisdom and knowledge of those with lived experience, created by our participants, to generate an open discussion and work towards a place of systems level social change to reduce the high numbers of suicide in our region.

Artworks and captions will also be shared across appropriate digital platforms.

It is important to understand that our consent process is rigorous, and no part of anyones lived experience will be shared without significant consultation and consent with the individual.

Here is an example of a previous digital campaign that was spread across many platforms to combat a bill in parliament in 2022. The artworks were taken to Parliament House in the form of a printed zine (mini magazine) and presented to policy makers to support community opposition to the bill. Community was successful and the bill was not passed.

https://folkal.com.au/we-speak-transcend

Mindframe also has a great resource available to help you make an informed decision: https://mindframe.org.au/our-stories-matter?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0E6bAOVfYxpDa6gPRrU1uyoaSNDofeqnSp9GLyPrKo2jrEIIdHhwMLPnc_aem_VGUkLIolV187UfICHjcYTQ

Do you have a question? Email here and let us know: info@folkal.com.au

Express your interest in Connect For Life 2025 here https://folkal.com.au/connectforlife

We look forward to speaking with you soon!