This study utilized qualitative methodology to provide a rich description and a deeper understanding of the professional experiences and practices of twelve school counselors who work with adolescent students who self-harm. Four themes included: suicidal or non-suicidal, role of the school counselor, referrals, and identified interventions. There…

This study examined race and ethnic identity in relation to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Participants included freshmen at 2 universities, who were predominantly female. Final inferential statistics examined differences across Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Asian American, and Multiracial students, finding African Americans and Asian…

In this article, self-injurious behaviors are examined through the conceptual framework of relational cultural theory (RCT). As an emerging theoretical approach that takes into account the importance of relationships and relational goals, it is suggested that RCT be used in conjunction with mainstream approaches to treat self-injury.

Nonsuicidal self-injury is an important concern that has received limited attention. In this study, the authors explored several factors differentiating three student groups: never self injured, self-injured in the past, and currently self-injure. Among the factors investigated, results showed that currently self-injuring students were younger,…

The topic of self-injurious behavior (SIB) has been gaining widespread attention. Although college counselors engage in various types of treatments in order to uncover the underlying reasons for a client's SIB, there is another step in treatment that might be helpful to clients who self-injure. This step involves alternatives to self-injury. The…

Despite the fact that self-injurious behaviors are gaining increased attention in the schools, little is actually known about prevalence, treatment considerations, and school counselor training issues. This article will present the results from a national survey of American School Counselor Association (ASCA) members regarding their perceptions of…

Postvention actions are commonly employed after completed suicides and suicide attempts but can be adapted to assist affected family members in dealing with other types of crisis. The authors adapt a postvention model to be applied to systemically working with families who have a member engaging in self-injurious behavior. Recommendations for…