Self-harmers are being failed by the NHS, says report
With the UK having one of the highest self-harm rates in Europe questions are being raised about the quality of health care available to them.
In a self-harm report conducted by the Royal College of Psychiatrists over half of the 1,500 members surveyed felt they or their team did not have sufficient training to assess people who had harmed themselves.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists have criticised the NHS for the lack of training on self-harm and have made a series of recommendations to improve the standard of care given to people at risk of suicide and self-harm. The key point raised was that more funding, research and training are needed as all elements are essential to a good support system for those who self-harm.
Whilst there has been a reduction in the number of suicides in recent decades, the number of people self-harming in the UK is still continuing to rise with figures currently standing at four in every 1,000 people self-harming.
Though we tend to associated self-harm with adolescence and young adulthood it can occur at any age, even in the elderly population. The motivations vary but often it is used as a coping mechanism which provides a temporary relief from trauma such as emotional or sexual abuse or as an escape from distressing feelings such as depression, failure, self loathing and anxiety.
There are numerous methods which can be used to treat self-harm, some of which employ the use of antidepressants and others which look to treat the underlying causes and the behaviour itself.
One possible treatment option worth considering is Hypnotherapy. Whatever hypnotherapy is dealing with the key aims remain the same, one of which is accessing the subconscious to find the source of the problem. In the case of self-harm this may be anxiety or perhaps the memory of a trauma and whatever the route cause of the issue hypnosis will work at eliminating this.