CUTTING

MISCONCEPTIONS

• Cutting or self-mutilation is usually an attempt towards suicide. It usually is the opposite—trying to deal with emotional pain through a physical act.

• This behavior will stop quickly with treatment or medication.
It may be difficult to stop, reducing the behavior and finding a substitute for self-injury may be the immediate goals.

• This occurs mostly among lower social economic groups.
It is found across age, socioeconomic, and occupational groups.

• It is usually associated with serious mental illness.
The majority of teen self-mutilation is not associated with a mental illness.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PARENTS

Self-injury can become habitual and may increase in frequency and intensity over time. Seek professional assistance from a licensed therapist with experience in this field.

According to S.A.F.E. (Self Abuse Finally Ends), treatment goals may include treating the underlying pain, teaching alternative behaviors, therapy and medication. It can be hard to understand why it’s difficult for teens to stop. Provide a support network to help. Also show you care about them and the injury; make it OK to talk about the issue, acknowledge they are coping the best they can and help them see the behavior as a signal of buried feelings.

For additional information:

http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/
your_mind/feeling_sad/cutting.html

Strong, Marilee (1998). A bright red scream. NY, NY: Viking.

Favazza, Armando R. (1996). Body under siege: Self-mutilization and body modification in culture and psychiatry. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.

Selekman, Mathew D. (2006). Working with self-harming adolescents: a collaborative, strengths-based therapy approach. NY: WW Norton.