SELF INFLICTED VIOLENCE

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SELF INFLICTED VIOLENCE
Selfinjury.net
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http//www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story
Id4697319
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WHAT DO YOU CALL IT

• Self-harm
• SI( self-injury)
• Self-mutilation
• Cutters
• Self-inflicted violence

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WHAT IS IT?
Self-injury is the act of deliberately destroying
body tissue, at times to change a way of feeling.
http//www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/s
elfinjury_in_adolescents
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SELF-HARM IS NOT

• Misuse of drugs and alcohol
• Risky driving
• Unsafe sex
• Eating Disorders
• Other risky behaviors
• http//www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/l
  ibrary/self-harm/

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FORMS OF SELF-HARM

• carving
• scratching
• branding
• marking
• picking, and pulling skin and hair
• burning/abrasions
• cutting
• biting
• head banging
• bruising
• hitting
• tattooing
• excessive body piercing
• http//www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/se
  lfinjury_in_adolescents

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RISK FACTORS

• Eating disorders
• Physical, emotional or psycho-sexual abuse
• Depression, paranoia or obsessive-compulsive
  disorder
• Low self-esteem and self-worth
• Bullying
• http//www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/l
  ibrary/self-harm/

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GROUP RISK FACTORS

• Young women are 3 to 4 times more likely to
  self-harm then young men
• Friends of self-harmers are more likely to begin
  harming
• http//www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/l
  ibrary/self-harm/

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WARNING SIGNS

• Poor functioning at school
• Unexplained, frequent injuries
• Wearing long sleeves, long trousers etc. in warm
  weather
• Appears lonely, isolated, withdrawn or
  uninterested
• Low self-esteem
• Difficulty handling feelings and emotions
• Elusive, evasive or secretive, especially if
  asked about injuries
• Carrying razors, lighters or sharp objects that
  are not normally needed
• Any major change in behavior of any kind.
• http//www.selfharm.org.uk/professionals/teachers/
  sandcwarningsigns/default.aspa

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WHO SELF-HARMS

• Age of onset between 10 - 16 years old
• There was a major change in the teen's life --
  parents divorce or death
• There is a history of family violence, abuse or
  sexual abuse
• Intense feelings of fear, hurt, anger, rejection
  or abandonment
• Feelings of loss and or need for control
• http//www.coolnurse.com/self-injury.htm

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WHY ?

• They find it soothing
• A way of communicating what they can't say with
  words
• An attempt to get people to react to their
  actions
• There is no clear reason why
• http//www.coolnurse.com/self-injury.htm

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MYTHS

• Self-harm is usually a failed suicide attempt.
• People who self-injure are crazy and should be
  locked up.
• People who self-harm are just trying to get
  attention
• Self-inflicted violence is just an attempt to
  manipulate others.
• Only people with Borderline Personality Disorder
  self-harm.
• If the wounds aren't "bad enough," self-harm
  isn't serious
• Only teen-aged girls self-injure.
• http//www.selfinjury.org/

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SUICIDE VS SELF-HARM

• Feeling of wanting to die
• Suicidal feelings are immediate and the action is
  final
• http//www.nch.org.uk/information/index.php?i136
  95

• Way of coping with pressure
• People can self-harm for months and years without
  the act becoming more dangerous

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TREATMENTS

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy
• Interpersonal therapy.
• Self-relaxation techniques
• Group therapy.
• Family therapy.
• Medication
• http//www.helpguide.org/mental/self_injury.htmtr
  eatment

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TREATMENT

• DBT Dialectical Behavior Therapy
• The therapist creates a context of validation
  rather than blaming the patient
• Within the context the therapist blocks or
  extinguishes bad behaviors
• Drags good behaviors out of the patient and
  figures out way to make the good behaviors
  reinforcing.
• Marsha Linehan Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of
  Boderline Personality Disorder

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SAFE ALTERNATIVES

• S.A.F.E. (Self Abuse Finally Ends)
• Nationally recognized treatment approach,
  professional network, and educational resource
  base, which is committed to helping you and
  others achieve an end to self-injurious behavior.
• http//www.selfinjury.com/

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WHAT CAN I DO

• Enhance capacity to cope and regulate emotional
  perceptions and impulses
• Enhance social connectedness
• Avoid strategies aimed primarily at raising
  knowledge of forms and practices
• Equip staff and faculty to recognize and respond
  to signs of self-injurious behavior
• Focus on increasing staff and student capacity to
  recognize distress
• Address sources of stress in external environment
• Promote and advertise positive norms related to
  help-seeking and communication about mental and
  emotional status and needs.
• Address sources of stress in external environment
• Educate youth to understand the role media plays
  in influencing behavior
• http//www.crpsib.com/whatissi.aspdetection

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References

• American Academy of Child Adolescent
  Psychiatry http//www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for
  _families/selfinjury_in_adolescents
• American Self-Harm Information Clearinghouse
  http//www.selfinjury.org/ 
• CoolNurse.com http//www.coolnurse.com/self-injur
  y.htm 
• Cornell Research Program on Self-Injurious
  Behavior http//www.crpsib.com/whatissi.asp 
• Focus Adolescent Services http//www.focusas.com/
  SelfInjury.html 
• Helpguide.org http//www.helpguide.org/mental/sel
  f_injury.htm 
• Linehan, M. Marsha, Cognitive Behavioral
  Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder The
  Guilford Press 
• NCH the Childrens Charity http//www.nch.org.uk
  /information/index.php?i136 
• NPR The History and Mentality of
  Self-Mutilation http//www.npr.org/templates/stor
  y/story.php?storyId4697319 
• Palace.Net http//www.palace.net/llama/psych/inj
  ury.html 
• SAFE Alternatives http//www.selfinjury.com/ 
• Selfharmuk.org http//www.selfharmuk.org/ 
• SelfHelp Magazine Self-Inflicted Violence
  Helping Those Who Hurt Themselves
  http//www.selfhelpmagazine.com/articles/depress/v
  iolence.html 
• Self-injury.net http//self-injury.net/ 
• Teachernet.gov.uk http//www.teachernet.gov.uk/te
  achingandlearning/library/self-harm/ 
• WebMD Cutting Self-Harm Warning Signs and
  Treatment http//www.webmd.com/mental-health/feat
  ures/cutting-self-harm-signs-treatment