Dealing with disclosures

Dealing with self-harm disclosures can be tricky. Here are some of our top tips when it comes to encouraging a young person to disclose about their self-harm...

• Listen – allow the young person to take time to talk. There may be long silences as it’s extremely hard to talk about, so don’t fill the silence.
• Be honest and consistent – if your self harm policy says you have to tell your line manager, tell them. Tell them who will be Told and why.  Tell them if you need to take any other action and what will happen. It may well cause distress so explain clearly and easily.
• Identify what function self-harm serves – is it to self soothe? When anxious? When angry?
• Encourage them to explore the underlying issues – how long has it been happening? Do they remember the first time it happened – what was the trigger? Is there a certain pattern or time of day that is worse?
• Don’t avoid the subject – if they have told you, let them talk. You might want to consider offering further listening time; equally, they might not want to. Be open as you will receive openness in return.

Never ask or tell them to stop harming – it heightens the risks!

Why not encourage them to sign up to our Alumina self-harm support programme?