1st Edition

Self-Harm in Young People: A Therapeutic Assessment Manual

    Self-harm is a distressing and all too common presentation to emergency departments, and yet there is no clear understanding of what it represents, and success rates of interventions to prevent future episodes are enormously variable.

    Therapeutic Assessment for self-harm is a pragmatic model, developed by the authors of this book and forming an organic part of the psychosocial assessment following a self-harming incident. Its main features are that firstly, a therapeutic intervention at the time of distress, compared with a standard psychosocial history and risk assessment, improves patients' responses and their willingness to engage in further therapy, and secondly, that there is a vast range of evidence-based interventions that can be used to build a 'toolkit' that individual practitioners can employ with their patients.

    Therapeutic Assessment is evidence-based, simple and easy to learn, and this book presents the techniques in a clear, accessible and user-friendly way. Based on extensive research, it will form an essential reference for psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, and for any health professional involved in the assessment of young people who self-harm.

    Defining Self-Harm
    Prevalence and Natural History of Self-Harm
    The Genetics of Suicidal Behaviour
    The Neurobiology of Self-Harm
    Psychosocial and Psychiatric Factors Relating to Adolescent Suicidality and Self-Harm
    Effective Interventions
    Engagement
    Hopes and Expectations from Self-Harm Assessments: Adolescents' Versus Clinicians' Views
    Testing Therapeutic Assessment in Real Life
    TA Overview
    History Taking
    Developing Understanding
    Instilling Hope
    Assessing and Enhancing Motivation
    Using a Future Oriented Reflexive Approach
    Problem-Solving Techniques
    Using Systematic and Narrative Approaches to Create Exits
    Using CBT Techniques

    Biography

    Dr Dennis Ougrin MB BS MRCPsych, Kraupl Taylor Research Fellow, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK

    Dr Tobias Zundel, MB BS MRCPsych Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Dr Audrey Ng MBBCh MRCPsych MA Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    "The book is evidence-based with very extensive references and makes excellent use of case studies and examples... I had high expectations from this book, which were all met."


    BMA Medical Book Awards 2010