@article{ref1,
title=""Knowing that I'm not alone": client perspectives on counselling for self-injury",
journal="Journal of mental health",
year="2015",
author="Long, Maggie and Manktelow, Roger and Tracey, Anne",
volume="25",
number="1",
pages="41-46",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Self-injury is an increasingly common phenomenon among clinical and non-clinical populations. Health care providers generally recommend behavioural interventions that address coping skills for people who self-injure despite a lack of a consistent evidence base about their effectiveness. There is limited understanding about experiences of counselling for self-injury from the perspectives of clients. <br><br>AIM: To understand clients' experiences of counselling for self-injury. <br><br>METHOD: Ten interviews were conducted, audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using Grounded Theory (GT). <br><br>RESULTS: One central category, &quot;Developing a healing reconnection with self and others&quot; and four categories: (i) Building trust; (ii) seeing beyond the cutting; (iii) human contact and (iv) integrating experiences. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Overcoming self-injury is possible within the context of a trusting and accepting therapeutic relationship. Participants perceived counselling to be helpful when counsellors were willing to work with underlying issues rather than focus primarily on the cessation of self-injury. Counsellors and mental health practitioners must look beyond the behaviour to meet with the person and facilitate the development of a therapeutic relationship, which promotes a healing reconnection with self and others.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0963-8237",
doi="10.3109/09638237.2015.1101426",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/09638237.2015.1101426"
}