For some adolescents, experiencing physical pain becomes a regular practice for managing psychological pain. Whether used as a coping mechanism, a way to express anger, or to deal with intense emotional pain, self-harming is often a call for help.
In school settings, faculty and staff are charged with protecting students, but how can they protect those students who choose to harm themselves? The importance of educators understanding the circumstances, causes, and effects of self-harming behavior so they can respond quickly and effectively cannot be overstated.
For this Assignment, consider your role as a social worker and think about how you would raise awareness for educators to respond to this increasing maladaptive coping mechanism.
- Submit a 5 slide PowerPoint presentation explaining the indicators of self-harm, appropriate interventions, and follow-up steps for educators needing to respond to those who self-harm.
References (use at least 2-3)
Moorey, S. (2010). Managing the unmanageable: Cognitive behaviour therapy for deliberate self-harm. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, 24(2), 135–149.
Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
