Life as a teenager can be tough. Pressures from school, expectations from parents, fitting in with peers, and facing self-doubt are just a few things that can weigh heavily on a teen’s shoulders. While some young adults seem to thrive on adversity, others wilt under the strain and opt for less productive means of coping. Millions of American teenagers and college students deliberately injure themselves as a way of handling stress. They cut, burn, break, and poison their bodies, seeking physical pain as a means to avoid emotional pain. In Self-Injury: The Ultimate Teen Guide, Judy Dodge Cummings tackles this serious subject, offering hope for young adults everywhere. In this book, Cummings defines self-injury as it is understood by the medical community and examines the causes of self-harm. The author shares the stories of several young women and men to help explain what types of people are most affected by this disorder. Topics covered in this book include Who is most prone to self-injury Internal and external triggers to self-harm The impact of social media and the Internet on this issue Obvious and subtle signs of self-harm Coping mechanisms Resources for individuals Aimed at teens who need to find healthier ways to handle the pressures of everyday life, this book will also assist friends and families who want to help their loved ones. Weaved throughout the chapters are first-person accounts of teens who intentionally hurt themselves, and their stories will help others understand they are not alone. Providing paths to recovery, Self-Injury: The Ultimate Teen Guide is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to break free from self-destructive behavior.

The Cornell University College of Human Ecology categorizes self-injury as intentional carving or cutting of the skin, subdermal tissue scratching, intentional burning, banging or punching oneself, and embedding objects under the skin. To date, sixteen forms of self-injury have been documented, and recent studies show that there is no one "profile" for self-harm. This critical edition discusses self-mutilation and other self-harm behaviors. Chapters explore why some individuals harm themselves, the risks of self-injury, and how to treat and prevent it.

This trusted practitioner resource is acclaimed for its clear, compassionate, and hopeful approach to working with clients who self-injure. Barent Walsh provides current, evidence-based knowledge about the variety and causes of self-injurious behavior, its relationship to suicidality, and how to assess and treat it effectively. Illustrated with detailed case examples, chapters review a wide range of cognitive-behavioral interventions. Essential guidance is provided on tailoring the intensity of intervention to each client's unique needs. Walsh is joined by several colleagues who have contributed chapters in their respective areas of expertise. Reproducible assessment tools and handouts can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. New to This Edition*Incorporates up-to-date research and clinical advances.*Now uses a stepped-care framework to match interventions to client needs.*Chapters on the relationship between suicide and self-injury, formal assessment, family therapy, and residential treatment for adolescents.*Special-topic chapters on the "choking game," foreign body ingestion, multiple self-harm behaviors, and self-injury in correctional settings.

This book provides an introduction to the topic of self-injury as it relates to teens and young adults. The information, guidance, and resources offered make it a valuable tool for anyone whose life has been impacted by self-injury. Regardless of the form it takes, self-injury can leave lasting physical and emotional scars on both those who harm themselves and their friends and family. Part of Greenwood's Q&A Health Guides series, Self-Injury: Your Questions Answered provides clear, concise information for readers interested in or struggling with this often-misunderstood subject. It explores the causes and consequences of self-injury, treatment options that make use of therapy and medication, and the role that popular culture and the media have in shaping our understanding of these behaviors. Each book in this series follows a reader-friendly question-and-answer format that anticipates readers' needs and concerns. Prevalent myths and misconceptions are identified and dispelled, and a collection of case studies illustrates key concepts and issues through relatable stories and insightful recommendations. The book also includes a section on health literacy, equipping teens and young adults with practical tools and strategies for finding, evaluating, and using credible sources of health information both on and off the Internet—important skills that contribute to a lifetime of healthy decision-making.

"Before discussing the central framing guiding this book (see Chapter 3), it is first important to provide foundational knowledge about self-injury. Accordingly, this chapter addresses key areas within the field of self-injury, including how self-injury is defined, who self-injures, what might contribute to self-injury engagement, the reasons people may have for self-injury, and the risks associated with engaging in self-injury. In Chapter 2, we build on this by discussing the link between self-injury and suicide. Collectively, these two chapters provide the groundwork from which to understand and apply the person-centred, strengths-based framework woven throughout the remainder of the book"--

Subtle scars disappearing up a shirt sleeve, unexplained bruises, burn marks. As many as one out of every four young people engage in non-suicidal self-injury, defined as the deliberate destruction of body tissue without suicidal intent. Parents who uncover this alarming behavior are gripped by uncertainty and flooded with questions--why is my child doing this? Is this a suicide attempt? What did I do wrong? What can I do to stop it? And yet basic educational resources for parents with self-injuring children are sorely lacking. Healing Self-Injury provides desperately-needed guidance to parents and others who love a young person struggling with self-injury. First and foremost, adolescent psychologists Janis Whitlock and Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson believe that parents must appreciate how important their role is in their child's recovery; there is a lot that parents can do to support their self-injuring children. This book offers strategies for identifying and alleviating sources of distress in children's lives, improving family communication (particularly around emotions), and seeking professional help. Importantly, it also provides compassionate advice to parents with personal challenges of their own, explaining how these can impact the entire family. The book will help parents partner with their children to identify, build, and use skills that will assist them in recovering from self-injury. Vivid anecdotes drawn from the authors' extensive in-depth interviews with real families in recovery from self-injury put a human face on what for many families is a distressing and often isolating experience. Healing Self-Injury is a must-have for parents who want to assist in their child's recovery, as well as for anyone who lives with, works with, or cares about self-injuring youth and their families.

Why do some people repeatedly injure themselves? How common is this form of self-harm? How can professionals offer appropriate intervention and support to those whose lives are troubled by it, either directly or indirectly? This authoritative and systematic book adopts a holistic approach to the problem of repeated self-injury and the difficult emotions and experiences that it gives rise to. Bringing together theory, research and a wealth of case vignettes, Understanding Repeated Self-Injury examines both the psychological and physical aspects of self-injury. The authors explain how deliberate cutting or burning of the skin is used by many as a way to overcome and temporarily escape bad feeling and thus transcend the limits of their identity. In particular, the book - Presents a unifying model for theory and practice, based on the phenomenology of self-injury - Examines the important role of identity and dissociation in perpetuating self-injury - Considers the wider impact of self-injury on family and friends, and on staff - Addresses treatment strategies and self-help resources Each chapter draws on the authors' considerable clinical experience across a range of contexts, and is written with professionals and trainees particularly in mind. This book is an essential introduction and indispensable resource for those working, or considering to work, in counselling, therapeutic and health care settings where they are or might be confronted with the complexities of self-injury.