Self Harm

What is self harm?

Self harm is an act which is intended to cause injury to one-self but which is not intended to result in death. It is often described by those who self harm as a way of coping with emotional pain and of surviving distressing experiences. It is not a suicide attempt.

Prevalence and Incidence

It is impossible to provide a definitive picture of self harm in Scotland for a number of reasons including that self harm is often not reported or recorded.

What are we doing to support those using self harm as a coping strategy?

The NHSGGC Self Harm Forum is a group of trainers who have successfully completed the ‘What’s the Harm’ Train the Trainer course, the organisations they represent, people with lived experience and wider individuals and organisations with a shared interest in supporting the purpose and remit of the group. The forum reports to the NHSGG&C Suicide Prevention Group and local structures as required.

Our Self Harm Awareness and Skills Training Resource: What's The Harm, seeks to standardise understanding of and responses to self harm when used as a coping strategy. It has been informed by a wide range of existing work on self-harm from services supporting people who self-harm, research teams and those with lived experience of self-harm. The training recognises self-harm as a coping strategy, a response to distress and a means to keep living. It makes the distinction therefore between suicide and self-harm whilst recognising that there are links between the two.

*In the absence of in person training and meeting opportunities the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Self Harm Forum has pulled together a range of information for staff providing support and advice to people who may be self harming.* Download here

Heather Sloan and Allison McKenna Breen, two of our What's the Harm Trainers, presenting a poster on the Self Harm Awareness and Skills resource at the Faculty Public Health Event 2017.