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Public and academic discussion about the needs of people experiencing suicidality and psychological distress is focused on the improvement and expansion of clinical services. The potential of non-clinical, voluntary organisations providing comprehensive support is overlooked. This article reports findings from a realist evaluation of a charitable organisation in New Zealand that provides crisis respite. Two phases of data collection and analysis enabled the development of a programme theory explaining how respite supports people experiencing suicidality and distress. Data from interviews, participant observation, document analysis and a focus group were examined using thematic analysis. The study identified key outcomes of this respite service, along with the contextual factors and mechanisms that explain how these outcomes were generated. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of respite and the benefits of crisis services operating as charitable organisations. The apparent advantages of volunteerism are discussed in the context of a trend towards professionalisation in crisis intervention.

Background: The Netflix drama 13 Reasons Why (13RW) focusing on the suicide of an adolescent girl became a global phenomenon. It was accompanied by intense public debate about the risks of exposing youth to fictional portrayals of adolescent suicide. Aims: To explore adolescents' subjective perspectives and understanding of 13RW focusing on the portrayal of adolescent suicide. Method: We applied a thematic analysis to qualitative data from interviews with 25 New Zealand adolescents eliciting views on the show's portrayal of adolescent suicide. Results: Four themes were developed from the analysis: entertaining but not realistic; the unexpected shock factor; jumbled messages; and superficial conversations. Conclusion: This study contributes a youth perspective which has been missing from the debate on 13RW. This research highlights the way that youth, when given the opportunity, articulated a nuanced understanding of the representation of adolescent suicide in 13RW, viewing it as entertainment rather than a realistic depiction that added little in terms of suicide awareness and generated minimal opportunities for in-depth discussion.

Crisis intervention services for people experiencing psychological distress and suicidal ideation are frequently described by the people accessing them as failing to meet their needs. This paper reports a prominent finding from a realist evaluation of Taranaki Retreat���a charitable, non-clinical organisation in New Zealand, which offers free respite for people experiencing acute distress. Using qualitative methods, the study aimed to move beyond vague notions regarding the helpfulness of respite, to a deeper understanding of the contextual factors and mechanisms which generate outcomes for such an intervention. Participant observation, focus groups with staff, semi-structured interviews with service users, and analysis of service users��� case notes were conducted over a six-month period in 2018. The most prominent finding from the study related to ���genuine care������care which is interpreted by the recipient as being motivated by a genuine desire to help. We present this finding as to the central mechanism in a wider programme theory developed through the realist evaluation study. We also present five key features of the care participants were offered at Taranaki Retreat which contributed to their common interpretation regarding the motivations behind this care. Upon considering the centrality of this mechanism we conclude that, in designing crisis interventions, greater consideration should be given to how the intervention can demonstrate genuine care. Having highlighted the ways in which the structure of charitable organisations appears conducive for interpretations of genuine care, we further conclude that the provision of comprehensive crisis intervention by charitable organisations should be further explored and supported.