Websites
Can’t Shout, Can’t Scream – A self injury zine, with all back issues online. http://www.angelfire.com/grrl/glassangel/
Healing Self-Injury. “The Cutting Edge” newsletter was published from 1990 to 2008: this site is the continuation of the newsletter. It contains selected articles, commentaries, written and artistic contributions from the readership, and reviews of various resources for those who live with SIV. http://healingselfinjury.org/
The Lysamena Project on Self-Injury. Christian-based self-injury information and resources http://www.self-injury.org/index.html
National Self Harm Network Information, resources, training, and helpline, http://www.nshn.co.uk/
Psyke.org: Self-Injury Information and Support. Personal stories, poetry, photographs (very graphic.), articles, coping suggestions, links, and a book store. http://www.psyke.org/
Self-injury: You are NOT the only one. A respected and very comprehensive site and one of the oldest sites dealing with self injury. Many resources for self-injurers, therapists, family and friends, plus a message board http://www.selfharm.net/
Books
Connors, Robin E. (2008) Self-injury: Psychotherapy with people who engage in self-inflicted violence. Rowland and Littlefield, NY, NY.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS: What Is Self-Injury? – Understanding Self-Injury – Trauma
Wounding and Healing – The Incomplete Self-Boundary – PART I:
RESPONDING TO PEOPLE WHO SELF-INJURE – Therapeutic Goals and the Role of
Compassionate Presence – A Therapeutic Posture to Support the Healing
Process – Helping Clients Address Their Self-Injury – Repairing and
Completing the Self-Boundary – Working with Core Issues and Other
Interventions – PART II: MANAGING OUR OWN RESPONSES TO SELF-INJURY –
What Happens to Good Clinicians? – Finding the Right Action – Nourishing
and Sustaining the Self of the Therapist – APPENDIX A:Sample Questions
that Might Be Useful When Talking with Clients about Their Self-Injury –
APPENDIX B: Checklist for Identifying the Functions of Self-Injury –
APPENDIX C: The List of Lists
NOTE: From the publisher: “Key to
this work is understanding the function of self-inflicted violence and
its relationship to unresolved traumas and losses, including the role of
trauma in disrupting the formation of the self-boundary. Dr. Connors
identifies fundamental therapeutic tasks, gives clear examples of
interventions, and offers concrete recommendations for interacting with
patients about their self-injury. A range of related issues are
addressed as well, from repairing inadequate self-boundaries to using
adjunct therapies. Finally, the task of determining right action in
light of strong countertransferential responses is explored, including
situations where self-injury occurs in the therapist’s presence.”
Preview in Google books
Conterio, Karen, Lader, Wendy with Kingson Bloom, Jennifer. (1999) Bodily harm: The breakthrough healing program for self-injurers. Hyperion, NY, NY.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS: What is self-injury? – Drawing the line what is normal,
what is not? – Why do people choose self-injury? – The link to child
abuse and early trauma – The case for biological fragility – Growing
pains: the adolescent self-injurer – Body image and self-injury – The
eating disorder connection – Behind the “macho” myth: the male
self-injurer – Characteristics of self-injurers and their families –
What family members and significant others should know – The medical
side of self-injury: diagnoses and prescriptions – What therapists
should know – Classifying self-injury and paying for treatment – Part
II: The S.A.F.E. Alternatives Program – Why old cures don’t work and
ours does – How and why should I risk changing? – Getting S.A.F.E.: the
transformation – Our patients experiences with S.A.F.E. – Success
NOTE:
From the publisher: “Written by the directors of S.A.F.E. Alternatives
(Self Abuse Finally Ends), it clearly defines what cutting is and
explains the kinds of emotional trauma that can lead to self-mutilation.
It also includes case studies, diaries, and success stories from a
diverse group of patients….In this book, you’ll find: how to
distinguish something relatively harmless from a serious disorder, with a
diagnostic questionnaire to help; why women account for the majority of
self-injurers; what motivates self-injury and why it has grown so
rapidly; and how therapists, families and friends can help.
”
Preview in Google books
D’Onofrio Amelio A. (2007) Adolescent self-injury: A comprehensive guide for counselors and health care professionals. Springer Pub. Co., NY, NY.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: This is far too long to cite here: you can access it by going to http://books.google.com/books?id=sZ-RMqcid_4C&dq=Adolescent+self-injury:+A+comprehensive+guide+for+counselors+and+health+care+professionals.&source=gbs_navlinks_s
and clicking “about this book.”
NOTE: From the publisher:
“Each part of the book focuses on a basic topic, such as what
constitutes self-injury, the foundations for self-injury, and how to
engage an adolescent with these issues. Each issue is presented in
straightforward chapters that are immediately accessible to those who
are currently struggling to address this growing trend among teens. The
chapters within each part delve into how to recognize, treat, and
approach this illness and incorporate first-person stories from
psychologists, teachers, and adolescents themselves.”
Preview in Google books
Gratz, Kim L. and Chapman, Alexander L. (2009) Freedom from self-harm: Overcoming self-injury with skills from DBT and other treatments. New Harbinger Pub, Oakland, CA.
NOTE:
From the publisher: “This complete guide to stopping self-injury gives
you the facts about self-harm, corrects common myths about this
behavior, and provides self-soothing techniques you can begin using
right away for regulating difficult or overwhelming emotions. Freedom
from self-harm also includes self-assessment worksheets, guidance for
seeking professional help, and information about the most effective
therapies and medications. Drawn from treatments such as dialectical
behavior therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy, the tools in
this book can help you cope with your emotions whenever you feel the
urge to self-harm.”
Preview in Google books
Hollander, Michael. (2008) Helping teens who cut: Understanding and ending self-injury. The Guuilford Press, NY, NY.
NOTE:
Written for parents, this book define sand explains SI, tells parents
how to help their children and explain SI to siblings, friends, and the
school. Includes resources, including websites and intentsive treatment
programs.
Preview in Google books
Levenkron, Steven. (1999) Cutting: Understanding and overcoming self-mutilation. W.W.Norton, NY, NY.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS: What Is Self-Mutilation? – The Phenomenon of a
Self-Destructive Act – Who Is the Self-Mutilator? – The Reactions of
Others – How the Disorder Takes Shape – How and Why the Disorder Deepens
– Attachment Patterns – The Benefits of Self-Wounding – The Value of
Pain in Our Culture – The Family System – Incest and Other Childhood
Abuse: Fusing Pain with Security – Toward Recovery: A Perspective on
Change – Reaching Out to Reach In – Who Can Be the Helpers? – Bumps
Along the Road – Caught Between Symptom and Attachment – Moving
Backwards to Recovery – Achieving Genuine Communication with Others –
Analyzing and Confronting the Past – Recommended Readings on
Self-Mutilation – Other Resources
NOTE: From the publisher: “In
Britain, one person in 130 is a self-mutilator; in the US
self-mutilation is almost as common as bulimia and anorexia, yet the
condition is not recognized as a clinical disorder and few understand
it. This work has been written for the self-mutilator, parents, friends,
and therapists and explains why the disorder manifests in self-harming
behaviour and describes how the self-mutilator can be helped.”
Preview in Google books
Milia, Diana. (2000) Self-mutilation and art therapy: Violent creation. Jessicaa Kingsley Pub, London, England and Philadelphia, PA.
NOTE:
From the publisher: “In many cultures, self-mutilation is incorporated
in sacrificial rituals as a means of healing the whole society. Body
modifications such as scarification and tattooing are used in rites of
purification, healing and maturity….Diana Milia draws out these aspects
of self-mutilation, informing them with theories from psychoanalytical
literature, to explain how art therapy can help patients who self-harm.
She argues that using art as intervention supports the self-mutilating
person’s preference for ritualized symbolic action and their need to
create transitional objects. She describes artmaking in terms of
symbolic modification of the self-mutilating client’s own body, with the
ultimate goal of self-transformation. The creative process itself
provides an arena for the discharge and mastery of aggressive impulses,
and develops self-control, self-esteem, and symbolic capacities, all of
which are crucial in the treatment of self-mutilating behaviors.
Includes extended case studies.”
Preview in Google books
Levitt, John L., Sansone, Randy A.. and Cohn, Leigh, Eds. (2004) Self-harm behavior and eating disorders: Dynamics, assessment, and treatment. Brunner-Routledge, NY, NY.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS: Introduction – Epidemiology – 1: The Prevalence of
Self-Harm Behavior Among Those with Eating Disorders – 2: Dying to
Live: Eating Disorders and Self-Harm Behavior in a Cultural Context –
Psychodynamics – 3: Impulsive and Compulsive Self-Injurious Behavior
and Eating Disorders: an Epidemiological Study – 4: Self-Harm and
Suicide Attempts in Bulimia Nervosa – 6: Feminist Perspectives on
Self-Harm Behavior and Eating Disorders Assessment – 7: Assessment
Tools: Eating Disorder Symptoms and Self-Harm Behavior – 8: An
Assessment Tool for Self-Injury: the Self-Injury Self-Report Inventory
(Sisri)Treatment – 9: An Overview of Psychotherapy Strategies for the
Management of Self-Harm Behavior – 10: Therapy-Related Assessment of
Self-Harming Behavior in Patients with Eating Disorders: a Case
Illustration – 11: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Strategies in the
Management of Self-Harm Behavior in Patients with Eating Disorders –
12: An Integrative Cognitive Therapy Approach to the Treatment of
Multi-Impulsive Bulimia Nervosa – 13: Eclectic Treatment of Eating
Disorders and Self-Injury: a Case Illustration – 14: Interventions and
Strategies for Families and Friends of the Self-Harming Patient with an
Eating Disorder – 15: A Self-Regulatory Approach to the Treatment of
Eating Disorders and Self-Injury – 16: Group Therapy Approaches to the
Treatment of Eating Disorders and Self-Injury
NOTE: Self-harm
behaviors such as burning, cutting or abrading oneself are common in
individuals with eating disorders. This book examines the co-occurrence
of self-harm behavior and eating disorders from a variety of
perspectives — cross-cultural factors, the complications caused when a
patient suffers from other disorders, and the efficacy of various
treatment programs
Preview in Questia
Miller, Dusty. (1994, 2005) Women who hurt themselves: A book of hope and understanding. Basic Books, NY, NY.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS: Women at War with Themselves – The Body as Battleground –
Secrecy Silence and Deception – Self-Protection – Relationships – The
Healing Journey – Misunderstandings and Mistreatment – The Outer Circle –
The Middle Circle – The Inner Circle
NOTE: From the publisher
“Miller is widely recognized as the first expert to identify the roots
of ‘cutting’ and other self-injurious behavior in women. These women
suffer from what she calls ‘Trauma Reenactment Syndrome’ (TRS), a
pattern of behavior in which they reenact severe psychological or
physical harm done to them as children… Miller discusses what
self-harming women and abuse survivors have known all along; that
self-injury activates endorphins that actually calm the psychic pain of
old wounds.”
Preview in Google books
Nixon, Mary K. and Heath, Nancy L., Eds. (2009) Self-injury in youth: The essential guide to assessment and intervention. Routledge, NY, NY and Abingdon, Oxon, England.
NOTE:
From the publisher: “This edited volume features evidence-based reviews
and practical approaches for the professional in the hospital, clinic,
community and school, with case examples throughout. Divided into five
major sections, the book offers background historical and cultural
information, discussion of self-injury etiology, assessment and
intervention/prevention issues, and relevant resources for those working
with youths who self-injure.”
Preview in Google books
Strong, Marilee. (1999) A bright red scream: Self-mutilation and the language of pain. Penguin, NY, NY. (Later editions, 200 and 2005, do not have a preview in Google Books.)
NOTE::
From the publisher: ” Marilee Strong explores the myths and
stereotypes that have led many therapists to misdiagnose and mistreat
cutters as failed suicides and masochists. Through interviews with
dozens of psychiatrists, doctors, researchers, clinicians, and cutters,
Strong explains how cutting can become a powerful coping mechanism for
dealing with overwhelming emotional pain and gaining control over an
out-of-control mind and body. She presents startling new biological
research — including evidence of profound changes in brain chemistry and
structure as a result of exposure to childhood trauma — that may
explain why cutting is even more difficult to give up than alcohol or
drug addictions or eating disorders. Finally, Strong includes
information on what people with the affliction and those close to them
can do to start the process of healing.”
Walsh, Barent W. (2008) Treating self-injury: A practical guide. Guilford Press, NY, NY.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Definition and Contexts for Self-Injury – Definition and Differentiation from Suicide – The Relationship between Self-Injury and Suicide – An Overview of Direct and – Major Groups in Which Self-Injury Occurs – Body Piercings Tattoos Brandings Scarifications and Other Forms of Body Modification – 6A Biopsychosocial Model for Self-Injury – A Stepped-Care Model – Step 1 – 7Initial Therapeutic Responses – Formal Assessment of Self-Injury – Cognitive-Behavioral Assessment – Contingency Management – Step 2 – Replacement Skills Training – Cognitive Treatment – Family Therapy – Psychopharmacological Treatment – Step 3 – Body Image Work – Prolonged Exposure or Cognitive Restructuring for Treating PTSD and Related Self-Injury – Step 4- Treating Persons with Multiple Self-Harm Behaviors – Residential Treatment Targeting Self-Injury and Suicidal Behavior in Adolescents – Specialized Topics – A Guide for Therapists and Other Caregivers – Social Contagion and Self-Injury – A Protocol for Managing Self-Injury in School Settings – Asphyxial Risk-Taking: the Choking Game – Psychopharmacological Treatment – Step 3 – Body Image Work – Prolonged Exposure or Cognitive Restructuring for Treating PTSD and Related Self-Injury – Understanding Managing and Treating Foreign-Body Ingestion – Self-Injury in Correctional Settings – Treating Major Self-Injury- Afterword – Appendix A: Breathing Manual – Appendix B: Body Attitudes Scale BAS – Appendix C: Clinical Scales to Assess Self-Injury – Appendix D: Helpful Websites Related to Self-Injury – Appendix E: Bill of Rights for People Who Self-Harm
NOTE: From the publisher: “(Covers) the variety and causes of self-injurious behavior and how to recognize it in people at risk, ranging from those who do not have psychiatric diagnoses to those with eating or mood disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, personality disorders, or psychoses. Illustrated with detailed case examples, clear guidelines are presented for assessing clients and conducting evidence-based interventions using replacement skills training, cognitive-behavioral therapy, exposure treatment, psychopharmacology, and family- and school-based strategies. Reproducible clinical materials are included.”
Preview in Google books
3/2014