Cutting, burning, poisoning and self-mutilation are all common forms of self harm. Although not a mental disorder in itself, self harm is one of the most difficult and distressing behaviours which care workers have to face, and this is unsurprisngly one of our most frequently requested subject areas.

Self Harm is regularly practised by many thousands of people in the UK. Many people who self harm see their cutting or burning as a 'release' or coping mechanism which has little impact on an otherwise normal way of life. Nonetheless, for those care workers who support clients in shared accommodation or special needs housing, self harm can present as an insurmountable problem, particularly in situations where clients are injuring themselves frequently and/or to a significant degree.

This 1-day course aims to provide participants with some understanding of the cultural, gender and clinical context of self harm, and introduces the Self Harm Toolkit to help mental health workers develop skills and strategies to support this client group (when help is sought!), understand their behaviour, assess risk, and manage situations in a safe and effective way.