Such is the prevalence of self-injury, it is likely that every educator, in any institution, knows of a young person who is struggling in this way. While it is impossible to say just how many children and young people are affected by self-injury, it is thought that incidence of self-injury has risen dramatically over the last decade or so. This is important, and significant, not least because self-injury is a risk factor for completed suicide.
It is thought that girls are more likely to self-injure than boys, but this could be due to differences in the type of harmful behaviours adopted by some girls and some boys. The bottom line for teachers to remember is that there is not a typical type of person who self-injures or who is prone to self-injury. Given that we do not really know exactly how many children and young people self-injure, and we may not know the extent of the self-injury in those we are aware of, we need to keep self-injury, and how it might be affecting the lives of those we teach, well in our sights.
Self-injury, sometimes referred to as self-harm, (self-harm is a very wide catch-all term that can often include self-injury or NSSI - non-suicidal self-injury) is thought to be a physical response to an emotional problem. It is often assumed that self-injury involves cutting or burning but there are many other ways in which to cause harm, for example, alcohol consumption, drug abuse or through eating disorders. As the Alumina website states, “The bottom line is that anything that causes you harm – even slight harm – which in some small way makes you feel better emotionally, can fall under the umbrella of self-harm. The important thing isn’t to focus too much on the labeling, but to recognize when help is needed and find some support as soon as possible.”
Practical support in schools and colleges
A representative from Alumina, a support service for 14–19-year-olds who are struggling with self-injury, suggests that there are key things that are really important when responding to young people who disclosure self-harm as a professional/caring adult in their life.
“First when we are discussing it with the young people, we need to be able to react in calm, caring and non-judgemental way. This means saying to them "Thank you for talking to me about that, I think that's such a big step to take and probably took a lot of courage" or "it sounds like there's a lot going on for you right now, I'm sorry you're struggling with some difficult emotions",” he explained.
“Next, I think it's really important to recognise that self-harm is often a way young people are trying to cope with difficult situations or emotions. Therefore, ultimatums shouldn't be given, instead we can support young people by giving them a safe place to share their struggles a little bit, feel supported and check-in with them. To us, this means trying to help them do 2 things:
- Work through and process the struggles they are facing (which probably means giving them support and space to process and find solutions AND signposting them or helping them find other support when they are ready and able). This means the teachers don't need to know it all, they can instead search with the young person and collaboratively figure out what process the difficulties looks like.
- Begin to find other ways to cope when they are distressed/overwhelmed. This means encouraging them and supporting them to learn other ways of coping or to find alternatives to self-harm that may help when they have an urge to harm or are struggling to cope. (When we are doing this it is really important to be kind and recognise that this will be a process of learning and developing).”
By acknowledging that self-injury can be a coping mechanism, we are understanding that it could be being used as a solution to a problem. Helping young people to determine safer and more effective coping mechanisms is key.
“Finally,” Alumina suggests, “when we are struggling to cope being able to express and understand our emotions is really important! So, the last suggestion is that teachers begin to help young people express and share their emotions. This may be by checking on them and asking how they are today, helping them identify what they feel by giving words or asking how the emotion physically feels, and giving the young person space to talk about why they feel how they do.”
The need to self-injure will not go away quickly. Understanding emotional responses to events and how these can better be supported in a way that does not cause harm or injury is a significant part of the path to recovery. Signposting the way to support for children in your care is an important part of what schools can offer, as is the continued encouragement to understand emotions and emotional responses through having the opportunity to talk.
Find out more…
- Alumina offers free online support for young people aged 11-19s via an online 7-week course for those struggling with self-injury. Each course has up to 8 people and they access the course remotely. Sessions are run by counsellors and youth workers and participants join in via the chat box, rather than via video and audio. The sessions are about finding the next steps to recovery. They are not therapy groups although are based on therapeutic principles and developments in neuroscience. https://alumina.selfharm.co.uk
- Where to get help for self-harm - NHS (www.nhs.uk) – scroll down to find some great links for support.
- March 1st is Self-Injury Awareness Day – a grassroots global awareness event and a great opportunity to start conversations about self-injury and the support that exists for those affected. There are many participating organisations.
Content originally published on Eteach.
About the author
Elizabeth Holmes
After graduating with a degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Reading, Elizabeth Holmes completed her PGCE at the Institute of Education, University of London. She then taught humanities and social sciences in schools in London, Oxfordshire and West Sussex, where she ran the history department in a challenging comprehensive. Elizabeth specialises in education but also writes on many other issues and themes. As well as her regular blogs for Eteach and FEjobs, her books have been published by a variety of publishers and translated around the world. Elizabeth has also taught on education courses in HE and presented at national and international conferences.