Parents' Experience and Psychoeducation Needs When Supporting a Young Person Who Self-Harms

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 17; no. 10; p. 3662
• Main Authors: Krysinska, Karolina, Curtis, Sophie, Lamblin, Michelle, Stefanac, Nina, Gibson, Kerry, Byrne, Sadhbh, Thorn, Pinar, Rice, Simon M, McRoberts, Alison, Ferrey, Anne, Perry, Yael, Lin, Ashleigh, Hetrick, Sarah, Hawton, Keith, Robinson, Jo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22.05.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Adaptation; Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Australia; Caregivers; Child development; Coping; Humans; Interviews; Parent-Child Relations; Parents; Parents & parenting; Qualitative analysis; Qualitative Research; Researchers; Self destructive behavior; Self-Injurious Behavior; Self-injury; Social networks; Studies; Suicides & suicide attempts; Young adults; Australia; United Kingdom > UK; Melbourne Victoria Australia; psychoeducation; self-harm; young people; support; carers; parents
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17103662

Self-harm in young people can have a substantial negative impact on the well-being and functioning of parents and other carers. The "Coping with Self-Harm" booklet was originally developed in the UK as a resource for parents and carers of young people who self-harm, and an adaptation study of this resource was conducted in Australia. This paper presents qualitative analysis of interviews with parents about their experiences and psychoeducational needs when supporting a young person who engages in self harm. The qualitative study drew on semi-structured individual and group interviews with parents ( = 19 participants) of young people who self-harm. Data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. The analysis identified six themes: (1) the discovery of self-harm, (2) challenges in the parent-young person relationship, (3) parents' need to understand self-harm, (4) parents' emotional reactions to self-harm, (5) the importance of self-care and help-seeking among parents, and (6) the need for psychoeducational resources. The study highlights the need for support for parents and carers of young people who engage in self-harm, including development and adaptation of resources, such as the "Coping with Self-Harm" booklet, of which an Australian version has now been developed.