The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health

Just how prevalent is self-injury among older adults, specifically those ages 60 and over?  Do the types and methods they use differ from those who self-injure at other ages? What about the reasons they give for self-injuring? In this episode, Dr. Lisa Van Hove from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels University) is the first to reveal the prevalence of self-injury and self-harm among older adults.

To read Dr. Van Hove's info brief...

In this episode, Dr. Moye Xin from Xi'an University in the Shaanxi Province of central China discusses how nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is viewed in Asia and shares his thoughts about how gender role conflict may affect rates of self-harm among university students, particularly young Chinese men. Connect with Dr. Xin on ResearchGate at www.researchgate.net/profile/Moye-Xin or visit his work on SciProfiles at sciprofiles.com/profi...

In this episode, Ben Moroski from Los Angeles, CA, shares his story of lived experience of self-injury that began at age 17 when he and his family found themselves in a religious cult. He articulately communicates therapeutic gems he has learned throughout his journey of recovery while remaining honest with how he manages persisting urges to self-harm. Watch his autobiographical solo one man play about his struggle with self-injury...

In this episode, Dr. Sylvanna Mirichlis from Curtin University in Perth, Australia, and ISSS Past President Dr. Stephen Lewis from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada share about the origins of the annual March 1st Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD), what people around the world are doing as part of this day, and what our ISSS Stigma, Recovery, and Lived Experience Special Interest Group is doing to boost awareness of self-in...

In this episode, Spencer Ellison and Dr. Jennifer Muehlenkamp read a hypothetical case vignette of a client who engages in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), has experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviors, or is experiencing significant depression. They then tell us how willing therapists are to treat each case (self-injury vs. suicide vs. depression), if therapists would accept them into their clinical practice, and if it depends on ...

What is paramedical tattooing and scar camouflage and how is it different than other treatments for self-injury scars? Not everyone with lived experience of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) wants or needs to address self-harm scars, but some may choose to reduce or get rid of them as part of their recovery journey. Elena from Illusions by Ink Studio (https://illusionsbyinkstudio.com/) walks us through her approach to paramedical tatt...

In this episode, Ellie from the United Kingdom and National Health Service (NHS) shares her lived experience of atypical severe self-injury while participating in a psychiatric inpatient stay for an acute increase in severity of eating disorder symptoms. She discusses how she has used her experiences as a patient and recipient of mental healthcare in the UK to bring about systemic change, participate as a co-producer and research, ...

In this episode, Maryam Gholamrezaei, PhD, C.Psych, shares about her interviews with racially and ethnically diverse individuals who self-injure, including their responses to her question, “In your culture, what is the general response to people who engage in self-harming behaviors?” She also discusses gender differences in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among different ethnic groups and offers unique insights into how the geopolit...

Does the emotion someone experiences immediately preceding an episode of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) influence how painful that episode of self-harm feels? In this episode, Michelle Hiner, MS, a Clinical Psychology PhD student in the Emotion and Psychopathology (EmP) Lab at Rutgers University in New Jersey talks about how individuals who self-harm after experiencing high arousal negative emotions (HANEs), like anger, experience ...

Emotion Regulation Individual Therapy for Adolescents (ERITA) and its internet-delivered version (IERITA) is just one of a couple of treatments developed specifically to address nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents. In this episode, Dr. Johan Bjureberg from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden walks us through in detail each of the 11 sessions of IERITA and IERITA's 6 parallel sessions for parents.

Learn more ab...

In this episode, host and producer of The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast, Dr. Nicholas Westers, shares his own thoughts about what we should consider when supporting friends, families, clients, and patients who engage in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). This marks the first solo episode of the podcast, and Dr. Westers offers ways for listeners to have a bigger role on the podcast, including:

1. Should you or someone you know be i...

In this episode, Lotte Rubæk, MSc, who leads the Self-Injury Team in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Capital Region of Denmark, talks about why interaction on image-based social media platforms like Instagram can be particularly appealing to young people who self-harm. She discusses the dynamics that can arise between users in the more closed social media networks, and she explains why she so publicly resigned from Meta's gl...

In this episode, Christina Robillard talks about how self-criticism can lead to increases in self-injury urges within the next two hours as well as the relationship between self-criticism and disordered eating. She explains how she and her team use ecological momentary assessment (EMA; see Season 1, Episode 11 with Dr. Glenn Kiekens) to assess self-criticism in real time.

Connect with Christina on LinkedIn here. See Christina's acad...

Approximately 47% of transgender adults and 55.7% of transgender and non-binary youth report having engaged in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) at some point in their life. In this episode, Thomas details his experience of self-harm beginning at age 12, how his self-injury evolved over time, and how it related to his gender dysphoria. He also discusses dissociation as a relatively constant function (i.e., reason) of his self-injury a...

In this episode, Dr. Jonas Bjärehed from Lund University in Sweden walks us through his research on nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) that he began in 2007 as part of his dissertation project. For example, he shares high prevalence rates of NSSI in Sweden (~40%) and discusses gender differences of NSSI among adolescents in 2007 compared to 2023. He also explains the results of a 10-year longitudinal study in which he surveyed individu...

In this episode, Dr. Amy Lucas from Speek Health in the United Kingdom talks about supporting siblings of those who engage in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). How can parents and caregivers of those who self-injure determine if they should share that information with siblings? What should parents do or say if they learn that the one self-injuring has made their siblings promise not to tell their parents about their self-injury? How ...

In 2013, the 5th edition of the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was released, and for the first time it included Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Disorder as a Condition for Further Study. It is not an actual diagnosis at this time, but there are  currently six criteria listed (see below, bottom of page). In this episode, Dr. Greg Lengel from Drake University in Iowa walks us through what research says about each...

What exactly constitutes nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI)? Dr. Brooke Ammerman from the University of Notre Dame and Dr. Greg Lengel from Drake University discuss the complexities of defining NSSI. They also describe the difference between deliberate self-harm and NSSI and share their research about what many clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience tell them about what they think constitutes NSSI and how we should d...

The term "self-harm" is an umbrella term, encompassing a broad range of behaviors, under which is included substance abuse and misuse, eating disorders, suicide, and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). In this episode, Dr. Brianna Turner from the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada discusses how often self-damaging behaviors, including risky sex, financial and physical recklessness, co-occur with NSSI and where NSSI fits...