Sixteen-year-old Christine has been self-harming for more than seven years. She's burned and cut herself, suffered from bulimia, banged her head repeatedly, dislocated both knees and swallowed a variety of harmful substances. "More than once I really tried to kill myself," she admits.
Christine explains that although she had a social worker, mainly because of her family's fears for her safety, she did not really start to get help until she was admitted to a paediatric ward about 10 months ago.
"When I was there, I told the nurses I couldn't do this any more," she says. "I wanted to find a way of stopping. So the nurses, my social worker, a psychiatrist and a nurse consultant had a meeting and decided I should start seeing the specialist consultant regularly, and go to meetings with a group of young people who self-harm.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here