TOUGH WORDS

Introduction from Steve Whittle We talk a lot at Tough To Talk about reaching in. About noticing when somebody has changed. About being willing to start the conversation rather than waiting for the perfect disclosure. But there is another side to that responsibility that matters just as much. The person doing the reaching in needs looking after too. Tough Talkers are not therapists. They are not responsible for fixing another person, and they should never be expected to carry

By John Cregan, Qualified Humanistic Counsellor in private practice | Founder of MEN TALK TOO | Freelance PR Introduction from Steve Whittle When John sent me this piece, what struck me was that it asks a question that sits very close to the work we do at Tough To Talk, but approaches it from a slightly different direction. At Tough To Talk, we spend a lot of time looking at what happens before crisis: behaviour, silence, pressure, isolation, help-avoidance and the reasons su

Steve Whittle, founder of Tough To Talk, suicide assessor tutor. Most organisations I speak to already have mental health support. They have Employee Assistance Programmes. Mental Health First Aiders. Occupational Health. HR teams. Policies. Wellbeing initiatives. External charities and professional services. And all of those things matter. So there is a question I think we need to ask more often: If support already exists, why do some people still reach crisis without ever u

Why Tough To Talk Is Supporting Philip Pirie's Campaign to Reduce the Stigma of Suicide