self-injury resources
Note: Many of the resources and links below are commonly recommended, but it’s always a good idea to carefully—or prayerfully—consider anything you read, even in deciding if you should read it or not.If you are someone who is engaged in self-harming behavior, the information below can be helpful but will never be a substitute for finding people you can talk to and share your story with—people who will listen and care.For those who are encouraging and supporting someone who is self-injuring, the information will help you understand more about what is happening and how you can help. Still, don’t hesitate to get others involved from your community—pastors who understand self-injury or professional counselors.
BOOKS
General Market:
The Scarred Soul—Understanding and Ending Self-Inflicted Violence
by Tracy Alderman
See My Pain! Creative Strategies and Activities for Helping Young People Who Self-Injure
by Susan Bowman, Kaye Randall
Cutting—Understanding and Overcoming Self-Mutilation
by Steven Levenkron
A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain
by Marilee Strong
Healing the Hurt Within—Understand and Relieve the Suffering Behind Self-Destructive Behaviour
by Jan Sutton
With a Christian faith slant:
Scars That Wound, Scars That Heal—A Journey Out of Self-Injury
by Jan Kern
No More Pain! Breaking the Silence of Self-Injury
by Vicki F. Duffy
Self-Injury—When Pain Feels Good
by Edward T. Welch
LINKS
Jan’s Blog - Tips for those in the Christian faith community on helping someone who self-injures
Choose 2 Live Free - Jan’s Site for teens and young adults, talking about “living free”; more resources about self-injury are being developed for the C2LF Amplified page
American Self-Injury Information Clearinghouse - Self-Injury Fact Sheet
Helping Those Who Hurt Themselves - Tips for the support person from psychologist and author, Tracy Alderman
LifeSIGNS - Fact sheets and resources for the person who self-injures and for the support person
Lysamena Project - A Christian-based site with information, resources, and links
Secret Shame - Self-injury information and support (caution for those who are self-injurying and are easily triggered)
SIARI - “Self-Injury and Related Issues,” information, resources, support (also potentially triggering)
ARTICLES AND DOWNLOADS
Indentifying Kids Who Cut Themselves - Article and video on the signs of self-injury
LifeSigns Self-Injury Awareness Booklet - Free downloadable 124-page booklet
LifeSigns Fact Sheets - One-page fact sheets for students, health-care professionals, teachers, and parents
LifeSigns Help Pack and Halt Page - Resources for the person who wants to stop self-harming (Note: help-lines in pack are for the UK)
Teen Self-Injury May Be Common - Includes July 2007 statistics on teen self-injury
One In Six Teens Inflict Self-Harm - A January, 2008 article explaining current research that indicates the frequency of self-injury among teens
Conquering Cutting and Other Forms of Self-Injury - A series of articles for the person who is self-harming and those who want to help
Tough Issues, Tender Hearts - A Brio article on self-injury, including an interview with ZOEgirl and the story behind the song, “Scream.” Also includes some alternatives to self-injury.
