self-harm

Self-harm is not usually an attempt at taking our own life, but a way of expressing deep emotional feelings, such as low self-esteem. It is also a way to cope with traumatic events or situations, such as the death of a loved one, or an abusive relationship. Self-harm is not an illness, it is an expression of personal distress.

Our self-harm Blogs

Nearly half of the young people who present to hospital with self-harm are not given essential psychosocial evaluations

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Last September I blogged about a cohort study in the Lancet that highlighted the links between self-harm and poor physical health. This same dataset (drawn from over 30,000 patients from 6 hospitals in Oxford, Manchester and Derby from 2000-7) has now spawned a longitudinal study published in the European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry journal. This [read the full story…]

Borderline personality disorder improves with dialectical behaviour therapy and general psychiatric management

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Talking treatments are a key component of the therapy offered to people with borderline personality disorder and there are now a number of studies that point to the importance of these interventions for this complex and hard to manage condition. A new randomised controlled trial conducted by a research team from the Centre for Addiction [read the full story…]

Risk factors for suicide and accidental death. What can we learn from last episodes of self-harm?

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Self-destructive behaviour is often brought on by mental illness, poverty and other life problems. As individuals spiral down they sometimes come into contact with health and social care services. This may be a primary care visit, emergency treatment in hospital or simple cries for help to friends and family. Hindsight would show us that a [read the full story…]

Self-harm is associated with poor physical health, according to new Lancet cohort study

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Published yesterday in the Lancet, the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England is a large (30,950 patients) cohort study of people presenting to hospital emergency departments in Oxford, Manchester and Derby, with self-poisoning or self-injury during 2000-2007. We know that people who self-harm have an increased risk of dying early, but this study tries to [read the full story…]

Suicide and self-harm: series of articles in The Lancet

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Suicide is the second most common cause of death in young people worldwide (after accidental death). A wide range of factors contribute to self-harm and suicide, including mental health, poverty, living in a rural setting and being single. There is scant evidence for the treatment of self-harm or suicide with talking treatments or drugs and [read the full story…]

Methods of non-fatal self-harm may help to predict future risk of suicide

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NICE guidance recommends that all people who self-harm and are admitted to hospital are given mental health and risk assessment: Everyone who has self-harmed should have a comprehensive assessment of needs and risk; engaging the service user is a prerequisite. – Taken from NICE Self-harm guidance (CG16), Nov 2004 This new prospective cohort study conducted [read the full story…]

Assessing the risk of suicide and self-harm in older people: results from new prospective cohort study

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There is a clear need for specialist assessment and care for older people who self-harm, according to two papers published in the May issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers from the University of Manchester studied 1,177 people over the age of 60 who were admitted to six general hospitals in Oxford, Manchester and Derby [read the full story…]

One in 12 teenagers self harm, but most stop spontaneously

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Researchers from Australia have published the first population based study to chart the incidence of self harm during the transition from late adolescence through to adulthood. They recruited a stratified random sample of 1,943 teenagers from 44 schools across Victoria over a 16 year period (1992-2008). Participants were given questionnaires and telephone interviews and followed [read the full story…]

General hospital staff often have negative attitudes towards people who self harm: new systematic review

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Researchers from Oxford University’s Centre for Suicide Research have conducted a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies that explore health service staff attitudes to people who self-harm. It’s obvious to say that staff attitudes are going to have a big impact on the care of patients, but this research sought to review the nature [read the full story…]

Adding group psychotherapy to routine care does not improve outcomes in adolescents who repeatedly self-harm

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Researchers from Manchester University have conducted one of the largest randomised controlled trials ever undertaken to investigate self-harm in adolescents. The trial published in the BMJ examined the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of group therapy for self harm in young people by randomising 366 patients to: Manual based developmental group therapy programme specifically designed for adolescents [read the full story…]