Self-Injury Help, Self-Harm Help and Support

Getting self-injury help is often the first step in stopping self-harm. Professional self-harm help and self-injury support groups can make all the difference in conquering self-harm (also known as self-injury and self-mutilation).

If you're currently in a crisis, feel suicidal and need help right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the United States at 1-800-273-8255 or go to your local emergency room. Comprehensive suicide information here.

There are different types of self-mutilation help:

• Professional help for self-harm
• Self-help for self-harm behaviors
• Support groups for self-harm

Professional Self-Injury Help

There are many places a person can go for professional self-injury help. One place to start is in a doctor's office. A doctor can often refer you to a person or organization that specializes in self-harm help. Often a referral to a psychotherapist is given for self-mutilation help.

A nationally-recognized self-harm help program is S.A.F.E. (Self-Abuse Finally Ends) Alternatives. This is a treatment approach, professional network and educational resource base devoted to helping people stop self-mutilation. On the S.A.F.E. Alternatives website you can find:

• Treatment programs http://www.selfinjury.com/referrals/programs/
• Information on finding a therapist http://www.selfinjury.com/referrals/find/
• Therapist referrals http://www.selfinjury.com/referrals/therapists/
• Informational resources

Contact S.A.F.E. Alternatives:

• The S.A.F.E. Alternatives website http://www.selfinjury.com/
• Toll-free information line: 1-800-DON'T-CUT (366-8288)

A toll-free national hotline is also available specifically for youths under the age of 25. Boys Town is a support service for both males and females. They take calls from both the United States and Canada on self-harm and other mental health issues: Contact Boys Town:

• Boys Town website: http://www.boystown.org/
• Toll-free 24-hour helpline: 1-800-448-3000

Self-Help for Self-Mutilation

There is a lot of self-help available for self-mutilation. Websites, self-harm books and more are available to help you stop self-harm. One advantage of self-help resources is that they can be used at your own pace and can also be used in conjunction with professional self-harm help.

Some books on self-injury help include:1

• Conterio, K., Lader, W., Ph.D. & Bloom, J. (1998). Bodily Harm: The Breakthrough Healing Program for Self-injurers, New York: Hyperion.
• Hollander, Michael (2008). Helping Teens Who Cut
• Hyman, J., (1999). Women Living With Self-Injury. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
• Kreisman, J., Straus, H. (2010). I Hate You - Don't Leave Me, Los Angeles: The BodyPress.
• Nakhla, F., & Jackson, G. (1993) Picking Up The Pieces. New Haven: Yale University Press.
• Redheffer, J. & Brecht, S. (2005). Beyond the Razor's Edge, Illinois: Virgin Ink Press.
• Sutton, J (2005). Healing the Hurt Within. Oxford, IRE, U.K: How To Books.
• Walsh, B. (2005) Treating Self-injury: A Practical Guide. N.Y. Guilford Press.

Some websites on self-harm help include:

• Self-Inury.net– includes many resources.
• Scar-Tissue.net – Includes personal experiences of self-harm, resources.
• Psyke.org – self-injury support and information.

Self-Injury Support Groups

Self-injury support groups can be found in-person through mental health organizations and can also be found online. It's important to develop a network of self-harm supports in an effort to get better. These are the people and places you can go to in the event that you're feeling a strong urge to self-harm.

Some online self-mutilation support groups include:

• RecoverYourLife.com – this is one of the biggest self-harm support communities online. It supports people dealing with self-harm and other mental health issues. http://www.recoveryourlife.com/
• ReachOut.com – this self-harm support forum is specifically for people aged 14-25. Forums are available for self-injury support as well as other youth issues. http://us.reachout.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?14-Self-Harm
• Self-Injury.net – forums are available for self-mutilation support as well as other resources. http://gabrielle.self-injury.net/
• Scar-Tissue.net – includes self-injury support groups both for people with first-hand knowledge of self-harm and for those who support them. http://www.scar-tissue.net/message.html

We have specific information on cutting help and treatment here.

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