Helping Children and Young People Who Self-Harm:An Introduction to Self-Harming and Suicidal Behaviours for Health Professionals

Every year thousands of children and young people attend emergency departments with problems resulting from self-harm. More still come to the attention of CAMHS teams, school nurses and other community-based services. Helping Children and Young People who Self-harm provides clear and practical guidance for health professionals and other members of the children’s workforce who are confronted by this complex and difficult area.

Providing accessible evidence-based advice, this textbook looks at:

• what we mean by self-harm and its prevalence
• the legal background
• what works for young people who self-harm
• what children and young people think about self-harm
• assessment and interventions for self-harm
• prevention of self-harm
• service provision and care pathways.

Essential for all those working with children and young people, this textbook contains a glossary of terms, practical strategies and case studies.

Tim McDougall is a Nurse Consultant in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Chester.

Marie Armstrong is a Nurse Consultant in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Nottingham.

Gemma Trainor is a Nurse Consultant in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Manchester.