Treatments for Self Harming

There is no single means of treatment that is guaranteed to work in all cases of self harming or cases in which an individual inflicts behaviours such as cutting, burning, head banging, hair pulling and even poising on his or her own body. Instead, a combination of treatments geared towards protecting the self harmer’s physical and mental health is often employed to treat self harmers and help them cease their injurous behaviours. If a self harmer is in need of medical treatment, this will usually be organised first to guarantee that there is no threat to the individual’s life. When the individual’s physical health has stabilised, treatment then usually begins to address the individual’s mental and/or emotional health as well. In severe cases, residential treatment may be encouraged so that the individual can receive care and attention around the clock. There are several institutions across the United Kingdom that can provide this type of treatment as needed.

Medical Treatment

It has been estimated that up to 10% of admissions to hospital wards in the United Kingdom are the result of self harming behaviours, although since cases of overdose and other substance abuse/misuse are often included in these counts the statistics do become a little blurred. If, however, a self harmer hurts him or herself to such an extent that medical attention is needed, this medical care will be given before any other type of treatment is explored to address the root causes of self harming. Cleaning and treating wounds and burns, and investigating for bruises, broken bones and/or tissue damage are common means of providing care for cases of self harm. Most self harming behaviours are not done with suicidal intent, however some hospitals may choose to keep individuals who have self harmed under observation just to be safe. When the individual’s physical health has stabilised, counselling and/or therapy is usually then encouraged.

Counselling

Self harming is often related to conditions such as depression, low self esteem, feelings of powerlessness and feelings of being overwhelmed. When the root cause of self harming behaviours is actually emotional, then this basis must be addressed. Traditional counselling, sometimes known as talk therapy, allows those who engage in self harming behaviours to talk through their emotions and their decisions to self harm. The counsellor or therapist involved will likely be a source of support for the self harmer, and a behaviour modification approach may be able to teach self harmers how to make more healthy choices in the future. If clinical depression is diagnosed, medication may be prescribed, but there is no medication that simply stops self harming behaviours.

Residential Treatment

Both public and private residential facilities exist in the United Kingdom to help treat individuals who engage in self harming behaviours. Though all types of self harm are unhealthy, the individual involved will usually need to engage in these behaviours repeatedly for a long period of time, or engage in them to such an extent that there is a risk of long term health effects or even death before residential treatment options are broached. The Cassel Hospital (Surrey), Althea Park Specialist Service (Gloucestershire) and the Crisis Recovery Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital (Kent) are but a few of the institutions offering residential treatment for self harmers.