Dr Tim Kendall, co-director of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH), highlighted concerns about a hidden population of young self-harmers who remain undetected because they do not talk about their condition or seek medical care.
"People who work in mental health should be going into schools and destigmatising mental health," he said.
"If we can get teachers more aware and get people talking about mental health problems, teachers will be able to help some kids."
An estimated 24,000 young people end up in hospital each year after harming themselves, but research by Oxford University suggests that most adolescent self-harmers never reach health services.
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