Improving Solution-Focused Techniques in Suicide Prevention: A Dialogue with Emma Burns and John Henden
Please note: This webinar is not eligible for continuing education (CE) credit due to its informal, conversational format. Participants who attend the full live session will, however, receive a Certificate of Attendance.
This webinar is primarily for mental health professionals, therapists, counselors, and practitioners involved in suicide prevention and intervention. It may also be of interest to professionals working in social services, correctional, educational, or community health settings who work with individuals at risk for suicide.
Skills for the effective prevention of suicide are critical for practitioners of all backgrounds and settings. Too often, professionals focus heavily on assessment and risk management, leaving clients feeling unheard or
disconnected from the process. Solution-focused therapy (SFT) offers an alternative—one that centers on a client’s strengths, potential, and capacity for change rather than on risk alone.
In this webinar discussion, author Emma Burns and psychotherapist John Henden share their insights from their work using SFT with individuals experiencing suicidality. Through personal stories and real-world examples, they highlight how practical SFT techniques can foster meaningful engagement, even in moments of crisis. Burns and Henden explore how SFT’s goal-directed and collaborative approach helps clients generate their own paths toward safety and wellbeing, and how practitioners can use these strategies in clinical practice. Finally, they discuss the importance of hope and optimism in suicide prevention.
This conversation underscores the value of staying client-centered and strengths-based, even in complex and high-risk situations. It’s an opportunity to consider how subtle shifts in approach can open channels for change and healing.
Who's Presenting
Emma Burns, BSc, MSc(Hons)
Emma has been a registered psychologist since 1996 and has worked in a variety of settings including acute mental health, critical incident response, youth at risk, education, and suicide postvention.
Emma has worked with young offenders and family harm intervention. She held a role as Psychology Advisor for Eastern District Police during which time she developed a highly successful programme engaging with offenders in police custody. This work was published in the Police Science Journal in 2021.
In 2023 Emma led the development of the National Coaching Framework and contributed to several projects across the organisation including delivering suicide prevention training to police recruits. She now works in the correctional space.
Emma is the Founder and Director of Connecting with Hope, her private business, and collaborates with David Hains in their shared enterprise The Possibilities Lab. She has published chapters in three recently released books – The Solution Focused Approach with Children and Young People (2020), Women’s Perspectives on the Solution Focused Approach (2024) and the upcoming Solution Focused Practice and Mental Health Crisis (2025).
Outside work, Emma is a competitive swimmer, and the proud mother of four children. She became a first-time grandmother in July 2025.
John Henden, MBACP FRSA
John Henden is an international trainer, author, therapist, and performance coach. His best-selling specialist Solution Focused handbook, What it Takes to Thrive: techniques for severe trauma & stress recovery has now been translated into Ukrainian. A Russian edition will follow this year and a Simplified Chinese translation has just been published. The English edition was published in 2017.
John worked within the UK NHS mental health services as a practitioner and then as a manager, for over 20 years. During this time, he observed rapid changes in how healthcare services are delivered and was able to discuss what does and doesn’t work in many circumstances. John currently delivers training courses from a broad portfolio, also providing organizations with personal coaching and mentoring services. His client list includes NHS Trusts (UK), SSAFA, Compass Ltd (NZ), CRUSE, HM Forces, Helsinki Psychotherapy Institute (Finland), Korzybski Institute (Belgium) Local Authorities, HM Prison Service, Compass Seminars (Australia), SF Academy (Singapore), Bryukhovychi Seminary (Ukraine), and Krotkoterminowej Therapy Centre (Poland).
John has a background in psychology, is a qualified counsellor and a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). He is also a presenter at both the European Brief Therapy Association (EBTA) and Solutions Focus in Organisations (SFiO), being a founder member of the latter.