Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Part 1

Dr. Lisa Cohen Bennett

Training Description

This two-part 6-hour course is designed to provide participants behavior management strategies for staff working with traumatized youth and families. The aim of the course is to assist adults working with severe emotional disturbance have some clarity about who self-injures, why they self-injure, and myths associated with self-injury.  This training is to be followed by Part 2 which will also examine treatment options.

**PARTICIPANTS MUST REGISTER FOR BOTH DAYS**

Learning Objectives 

• Define the groups of non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors 
• Identify main populations affected 
• Describe reasons for participating in non-suicidal self-injury

Agenda

9:30 – 9:45  Introductions

9:45 - 10:30   Discuss Personal Coping Strategies: Self-Study

• As an adult:  when you face a difficult/traumatic situation (e.g., job firing, argument with partner, death, divorce, etc.) what coping tools/techniques do you usually use?
• As an adult:  when you feel “bad” about yourself (e.g., “I really made a mistake,” “I don’t look very good today,” “S/he is really mad at me,” etc.) what coping tools/techniques do you usually use?
• As a child/adolescent: Same questions as above

10:30 - 11:00  Review Severe Emotional Disturbance template with feelings and behaviors + self-harm behaviors

• Developmental Stages
• Discuss feelings associated with above Severe Emotional Disturbance template 
• Discuss behaviors stemming from trauma and feelings 
• Examine why this continuum occurs 
• Behaviors: Substance Abuse; Poisoning; Running Away; Prostitution; Eating disorders; Cutting, ETC;
• Self-Mutilation: Burning; Choking; Biting; Skin picking; Branding; Hair pulling, ETC

11:00 - 11:15 BREAK (CEUs will not be issued for this time)

11:15 - 11:45  Classifications

• Directness
• Lethality
• Repetition
• Major
• Moderate or Superficial
• Compulsive
• Impulsive

11:45 - 12:15 Who, Why and Myths 

• Used to be thought that mostly females self-injured.  More recent research suggests it is pretty even between genders.
• Latest research suggests 15-20% of teens and 6% of adults participate in NSSI.  Because the behaviors are often secretive, however, those numbers are probably low.
• Why do people do it?
• Myths about Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

12:15 - 12:30 Movie clip and discussion; Course Evaluations

12:30  Adjournment

This TWO-PART course meets the qualifications for (5.5) BBS CEUs for LCSWs and MFTs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.