Self-harm is an increasingly recognised phenomenon and one of the strongest predictors of suicide, which continues to be one of the leading causes of death in young people world-wide. Self-harm can take many forms and may present with or without suicidal intent and both in the context of mental disorder, and without.
Self-harm & Suicide
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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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Adolescent Mental Health Training: Inside the Teen Brain – Season 2
What does the teenage brain tell us about adolescent mental health? Access free adolescent mental health training covering depression, ADHD, self-harm and more.
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Understanding and Responding to Self-Harm: Latest Evidence and Clinical Practice. Judy Dunn International Online Conference 2026
Explore the latest evidence on self-harm in children and adolescents. Learn about neurobiology, emotion regulation, assessment, family support, and clinical practice from leading international experts. Don’t miss the EARLY BIRD OFFER save nearly 20%!
- Event type
- Judy Dunn International Conference
- Location
- LIVE STREAM
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Beyond the Safety Plan in Suicide Care
Suicide care often reaches only as far as the acute moment. Nonetheless, the tools built for that moment may do little to identify or address what brought the person there. Professor David Jobes, speaking at a conference on brief interventions for young people and families, made the case that steadying a crisis and treating its cause are different tasks, and that aiming at the suffering itself is the harder and more neglected part.
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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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Safeguarding & Suicide Risk in CAMHS: Assessing and Managing Risk in Children and Young People
This set of talks explores updated best practice in suicide prevention within CAMHS, highlighting a shift toward personalised, collaborative safety assessment, formulation, and management following new 2025 national guidance. It also examines suicidality in autism, multiagency learning from recent cases, and broader safeguarding approaches including child exploitation and forensic CAMHS perspectives.
- Event type
- Introductory and Update Session
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Have You Seen Me Lately? – Revisiting Our Understanding of Youth Mental Health
We are delighted to announce the release of the 2026 Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry (JCPP) Annual Research Review ‘“Have you seen me lately” ‐ Revisiting our understanding of significant mental health disorders for children and adolescents’, edited by Daniel S. Shaw.
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