Citation

Te Maro B, Cuthbert S, Sofo M, Tasker K, Bowden L, Donkin L, Hetrick SE. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019; 16(23): e16234844.

Affiliation

Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph16234844

PMID

31810234

Abstract

Self-harm rates are increasing globally and demand for supporting, treating and managing young people who engage in self-harm often falls to schools. Yet the approach taken by schools varies. This study aimed to explore the experience of school staff managing self-harm, and to obtain their views on the use of guidelines in their work. Twenty-six pastoral care staff from New Zealand were interviewed. Interviews were analyzed and coded using thematic analysis. Three themes emerged: The burden of the role; discrepancies in expectations, training, and experience; and the need for guidelines to support their work. This research, therefore, demonstrated a need for guidelines to support school staff to provide support around decision making and response to self-harm in the school environment.

Language: en

Keywords

guidelines; school; self-harm; suicide