Teen self harm UK

'Over 24,000 UK teens self-harm each year' - report

Two charities were today calling on the British Government to do more to raise awareness about young people who self-harm after publishing a major new report which shows "widespread misunderstandings" are preventing people from getting support.

The Mental Health Foundation and the Camelot Foundation have joined forces to produce a two-year study into the causes of self-harm amongst young people and to develop new guidance and support for those helping the youngsters. In response to the "Truth Hurts" report, charity chiefs are now urgently calling on the government to kick off an awareness campaign about self-harm targeted at professionals, parents and young people.

Researchers found young people who self-harm are more likely to turn to friends their own age for help, rather than relatives, teachers or GPs. The authors of the study claimed widespread misunderstandings about self-harm among professionals and relatives are preventing young people who self-harm from seeking and getting support. However, the charities found little information is available to help parents and professionals learn to deal with self-harm effectively.

According to the Truth Hurts report, professionals and adults often react inappropriately to disclosure of self-harm, which frequently makes the situation worse. Researchers discovered there is a tendency for adults to focus solely on the self-harming behaviour rather than the underlying causes. It also emerged young people often hurt themselves for long periods of time without ever disclosing their self-harm. The two-year inquiry revealed health, education and social care professionals are not receiving the guidance or formal training they need to support young people who self-harm. Of the professionals polled, the majority said they felt they receive insufficient personal support to deal with self-harm cases. Education professionals added they would like information and advice about self-harm to be provided in all schools across the UK.

The inquiry found a number of circumstances can lead a person to begin self-harming, such as being bullied at school, not getting on with parents, anxiety about academic performance, parental divorce, bereavement, unwanted pregnancy, experience of sexual, physical or emotional abuse in earlier childhood, and difficulties associated with sexuality.

Researchers said self-harm is a coping mechanism which enables a person to express difficult emotions. Young people who hurt themselves often feel that physical pain is easier to deal with than the emotional pain they are experiencing, because it is tangible. However, the behaviour only provides temporary relief and fails to deal with the underlying issues that a young person is facing.

The study revealed stopping or reducing self-harming behaviour is a long process and said alternative coping strategies need to be learned to deal with difficult life circumstances and emotions. Of the young people polled, they revealed they want counselling, drop in centres and facilitated self-help groups to be made available. The report asserts that schools provide an appropriate setting in which young people would like to see external individuals and organisations, independent of schools, provide information and advice.

Chair of the inquiry, Catherine McLoughlin CBE, said: "It is vital that everyone who comes into contact with young people has a basic understanding of what self-harm is, why people do it, and how to respond appropriately. "At the very least they should avoid being judgmental towards young people who disclose self-harm, should treat them with care and respect and should acknowledge the emotional distress they are clearly experiencing." Susan Elizabeth, director of the Camelot Foundation, said: "There is an urgent need to provide information and guidance for parents and carers, friends and professionals - people are struggling in the dark. "We must rid the fear, misunderstanding and stigma that surrounds self-harm." Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: "Self-harm is evidently a symptom of mental and emotional distress. "We need to look past the behaviour and provide understanding, support and effective services for young people in the UK."

The most common methods of self-harm were found to involve: cutting; burning; scalding, banging or scratching one`s own body; breaking bones; hair pulling; and ingesting toxic substances or objects to cause discomfort or damage. Evidence reviewed by the inquiry team suggests one in 15 young people have self-harmed in the UK and more than 24,000 teenagers are admitted to hospital in the UK each year after deliberately harming themselves.

In response to the report leading children`s charity Barnardo`s has called on the Government to invest more money into researching and finding effective answers to self harming. The charity`s principal policy and practice officer, Claire Turner, said: "Self harm is an issue that affects so many young people in the UK. We hope that this will be a wake-up call. "Rates of self harm in the UK have increased over the past decade and are reported to be amongst the highest in Europe.

"The challenge for the future is to find out what is most effective in preventing self harm and intervening when a young person has self harmed. This requires a co-ordinated response across health, education and social care. "There is a clear need for school staff and others working with young people to have a better awareness and understanding of self harm. The health and education department need to work together on developing guidelines and information about good practice to support all professionals working with young people.

"It is not just mental health professionals or GPs who need support and guidance on self harm. Young people will want to talk to a trusted adult and this could be a teacher, youth worker or social worker."

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