self-harm
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Understanding self injury in children with learning disabilities
Self-injury in children with learning disabilities requires an assessment that brings together health, communication, learning and individual differences (Richards et al., 2024). The evidence supports investigating the circumstances surrounding behaviour while remaining alert to pain, poor sleep and difficulties regulating behaviour. These influences can interact, making an individualised understanding essential (Oliver et al., 2020).
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Engaging young people in therapeutic conversations about self harm
Conversations after self-harm can help young people understand their experiences and identify changes that matter to them. McCabe et al. (2026) describe how the Supporting Adolescents with Self-Harm (SASH) intervention combines therapeutic assessment, enhanced safety planning and solution-focused brief therapy. Through four young people’s cases and one carer’s case, they illustrate collaborative work grounded in each person’s language, relationships and hopes, offering examples of practice and proposed mechanisms of change, rather than trial results demonstrating that SASH reduces subsequent self-harm.
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How Neurobiology Can Inform Our Understanding of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Why does non-suicidal self-injury develop and what sustains it? Explore Kaess et al. (2021) on biological, psychological, and social factors, including stress, pain, emotion regulation, and vulnerabilities linked to ongoing self-injury.
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Self-Harm in Young People: Turning Contact with Services into Opportunities for Care
New research explores self-harm, service contact, and suicide among young people, highlighting the need for comprehensive assessment and coordinated support.
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Irritability and Later Depression and Self-Harm in Adolescence
Irritability is common in early childhood and for many children, it reduces over time as they develop better frustration tolerance, language, emotional regulation, and social understanding. However, when irritability remains high across early childhood, it may signal increased vulnerability to later mental health difficulties.
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Meet the Expert on Suicide and Self-harm Prevention – Prof. Pooja Saini
On 16 June 2026, ACAMH will host Brief Interventions That Make a Difference: Practical Approaches for Young People and Families, an international expert conference bringing together leading voices in suicide prevention, crisis care, neurodivergent-inclusive practice, and scalable mental health support. We caught up with one of the speakers – Professor Pooja Saini, Professor at Liverpool John Moores University and a specialist in suicide and self-harm prevention – about her work, her session, and what attendees can expect from the day.
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Self-harm and Suicide Risk in Young People: A Call for Personalised Assessment
Self-harm affects roughly one in six adolescents and is a potent predictor of suicide. Yet the best-known risk-prediction tools correctly identify only a small minority of future suicides. Instead of relying on scores, clinicians should carry out compassionate, personalised assessments, followed by rapid follow-up and collaborative safety plans.
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Common Elements in Interventions for Youth Suicide and Self-Harm: Findings from a Practitioner Review
A practitioner review of 18 randomised controlled trials identifies the therapeutic elements most commonly found in interventions that reduce suicide attempts and self-harm among adolescents. The findings highlight key strategies that can inform and guide clinical practice.
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Self-harm E-learning for School Staff: Co-production of the SORTS Toolkit
Self-harm among adolescents is increasing in prevalence and there is a lack of evidence-based, whole-school approaches to support students and staff with their response to self-harm. This blog discusses the need for a whole-school approach to self-harm training in schools alongside the SORTS study, which used co-production methods to develop the Supportive Response to Self-Harm in Schools (SORTS) toolkit.
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An Increasing Concern: Improving Self-Harm and Self-Injury Awareness
If you or a person you know is struggling with their mental health, please seek support by accessing the helplines and resources provided by the NHS website. For those outside the UK please use an internet search to find an organisation that can offer direct support.
1 March is globally recognised as Self-Harm and Self-Injury Awareness Day and serves as an opportunity to raise awareness, encourage an understanding, and promote more conversations around the topic of self-harm and self-injury. We encourage you to explore the learning opportunities available on our website and do please share with your networks and colleagues.
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