Self Harm Behaviours are at a rise,It is important to psycho educate and intervene. An introduction to awareness about the condition- aetiology, prognosis and intervention.

1. SELF HARM –
AETIOLOGY, PROGNOSIS
AND INTERVENTION
Session addressed to AIPS
April,2022
- Feba Percy Paul

2. WARMING UP
Presentation by Dr. Feba Percy Paul 2
THE RECOVERY VILLAGE

3. WARMING UP
• About 15 percent of college students have harmed themselves at
least once
• About 17 percent of adolescents have self-harmed
• Males represent between 35 and 50 percent of all people who self-
harm
• Being a sexual minority increases the likelihood of engaging in self-
harm
Presentation by Dr. Feba Percy Paul 3
THE RECOVERY VILLAGE

4. WARMING UP
• Many patients/individuals in therapy describe dissociative episodes, when they don’t
feel fully present, when they feel numb, or when they feel detached and unable to exert
any influence on what happens to them.
They are usually are not trying to attract attention; they usually cut in secret and on
concealed parts of their bodies.
• Others rely on cutting or self harm as a way to communicate a need for help or a need to
be heard when they do not have the skills to communicate their needs in a healthy way.
They often tell someone about their actions, and the cutting or self harm may be more
visible.
• Some, often those with borderline personality disorder, may use cutting as a way to seek
attention. They often have learned and relied on unhealthy strategies for seeking
attention, validation, and support for many years, feeling that they have no other
options.
Cutting or self harm may be an escalation of those behaviors.
Presentation by Dr. Feba Percy Paul 4
https://www.skylandtrail.org/understanding-cutting-and-
self-harming-behaviors/

5. SELF HARM- AND THE SICKNESS THAT
CANNOT BE NAMED
JOHN ET AL. , 2020
Contributory factors included
• fear of contracting the disease or of passing it on to others,
• financial or economic issues,
• loneliness and isolation due to quarantine,
• stress among health professionals, the uncertainty around when the pandemic
would end,
• misinterpretation of fever as COVID-19,
Presentation by Dr. Feba Percy Paul 5

6. Cont..
Contributory factors reported included
• contracting COVID-19,
• an inability for migrants to return home,
• frustration and the stigma of a (possibly perceived) positive result,
which resulted in harassment or victimisation by others in the
community.
• In the largest case series from India (n=72 suicide deaths),
Presentation by Dr. Feba Percy Paul 6

7. Cont..
In the USA, stressors for adolescents included
• inability to see friends,
• arguments with parents,
• unresolvable misunderstandings over social media,
• academic stress, and
• feelings of isolation (Jolly et al., 2020).
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8. CASE PRESENTATION
Presentation by Dr. Feba Percy Paul 8

9. FIRST ACTION?
Presentation by Dr. Feba Percy Paul 9

10. Anjali’s mother in a family event commented on her school
performance and that her mother cannot talk about her
academic performance in public anymore.
Anjali feels belittled, ashamed of herself.
A week later her mother makes similar comments when her
friends come over to her place. She feels sad, put out of place
and angry. She starts to hate herself.

11. RISK FACTORS?
Presentation by Dr. Feba Percy Paul 11
1. STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS
2. CAREER FRUSTRATION
3. OVERWHELMED AND
DISSATISFACTION EITH
PERFORMANCE AT
SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY/WORK
4. SOCIETY/COMMUNITY’S LACK OF
ACCEPTANCE

12. According to Psychiatrist Iria Mendez,
Approximately 1 in 3 people who self-harm for the first time
will do it again during the next year.
Some self-harming may have physical after-effects such as
scarring or infections.
People who self-harm may have other mental disorders, such
as eating disorders or substance abuse.
The suicide rate is 50 times higher in people who self-harm
than in people who do not.
https://www.clinicbarcelona.org/en/assistance/be-
healthy/self-harm/treatment

13. HOW DO WE INTERVENE ?
Presentation by Dr. Feba Percy Paul 13

14. WHAT ACCORDING TO YOU ARE THE
PROTECTIVE FACTORS IN SELF HARM ?
PROTECTIVE FACTORS
They are characteristics or
conditions that reduce or buffer
the effects of risk, stress, or
trauma.
CODE :
36968558

15. Stockings et al.,
2016

16. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-
health/self-harm/treatment/
Psychotherapy
Medications
Psychiatric Hospitalization
Relapse Prevention
Self-Harm Support Groups
Crisis Hotlines

17. COPING MECHANISM:
Applying it to Anjali
Presentation by Dr. Feba Percy Paul 17
1. Identifying Resources-
Managing with your situation
wisely with the resources you
have.
2. Learning to say ‘NO’
3. Understanding which
therapy suits you best – DBT
or Maybe ART THERAPY
3. Making a GOAL and
seeking support to achieve it.
RESILIENCE

18. Personal Exercise

19. Thank You! 