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Deliberate self-injury. A consumer-therapist co-run group. A choice or a necessity?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2011

Efrosini D. Kokaliari  and
Kristen Lanzano
Efrosini D. Kokaliari*
Affiliation:
Elms College, Chicopee MA, USA
Kristen Lanzano
Affiliation:
Smith College, Chicopee MA, USA
*
Address for correspondence: Dr. E.D. Kokaliari. Social Work Department, Elms College, 291 Springfield street, Chicopee, MA 01013 (USA). Fax: +413-5948996 E-mail: kokaliarie@elms.edu
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Summary

Aims — This aim of this paper is to discuss a consumer -therapist co-run pilot group on self-injury held at an American college. Deliberate self-injury has come to be a common phenomenon in schools and colleges. However the treatment and understanding of self-injury still remains a challenge. Most people who self-injure remain hidden in society and do not seek therapy, due to the shame-filled stereotypes and misconceptions that surround self-injury. Group therapy has been discussed as ineffective by many in the mental health field while individual treatment has been controversial for decades. Method — The paper will discuss how this group treatment was informed by consumer empowerment philosophy and how consumer and therapist facilitators worked together to turn it into a healing experience. Results — This group was indeed challenging but confirmed that consumer- run programs are able to function as a catalyst to facilitate healing. It confirmed that breaking away from traditional models that allocate all power and hope for change to professionals might not only be an important step but, in cases such as treatment of self-injury, a necessity.

Declaration of Interest: none.

Type
Inclusion and Mental Health in the New Europe
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 14 , Issue 1: Inclusion and Mental Health in the New Europe , March 2005 , pp. 32 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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