Is this just wrong or is it me?

preable

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4859994/student-given-blades-to-self-harm-at-school.html




:eek::eek::eek::eek:

Lagoon

It's definitely bringing about mixed opinions!

Personally, I agree with what they did. We're not getting the full story from the media, of course. If this was a temporary decision, and they were arranging help and support to help this girl recover long-term, then I think it's great that they provided the appropriate tools and kept an eye on the girl.

Like someone else said, in the comments of that article, I don't understand self-harming. It still seems a relatively 'new' thing, so I don't know how it's come about, but I do know that feeling of being angry, upset and panicked - if someone's going to self-harm, I imagine it's a need for an instant release and is something they're going to do anyway. Either they watch the girl and keep her safe, or she finds her own tools and locks herself in a toilet cubicle where things could go wrong without anyone knowing.

If I were her parent, I know which option I'd prefer. It's not (as far as I can gather from reports) that they were just letting her harm herself without acting on it. People will have been told, I expect, and long-term help will have been sought.

Sheldon_Cooper

It seems to be a pragmatic response to an unfortunate situation. It was clearly considered the lesser of two evils.

MamaMoo_2

Personally, it's the stupidest thing I've ever seen.
Self-harm is usually an indication of underlying mental health problem, and needs addressing properly with trained mental health professionals, counselling and possibly even medication.

Lagoon, I find it interesting that you think self-harm is a relatively new thing. I'd say it's become more common, or at least more publicised, but I definitely wouldn't call it a "new" thing.

Whilst saying "if they're going to cut, let's give them decent blades and a monitored environment to do it in" seems sensible on the surface as it's better than doing it in private with a rusty blade where no-one will notice if there's a potentially fatal cut, it's still wrong. What these teachers are effectively doing is encouraging and even condoning this behaviour.

Speaking from experience, what needs to happen is the underlying issues need to be addressed, steps need to be taken to prevent this behaviour, and it needs to be made clear that it's not appropriate behaviour.
The naïvet! here is also ridiculous, assuming that because they have a controlled environment in which to cut that they won't do it elsewhere? All they're doing is aggravating an already sensitive issue and normalising something when they should be doing the exact opposite.

Thomas_Hardy

Controlled harming is a proven method of managing self harm until a longer term solution is found, indeed in handing control to the individual it can help in their recovery. As the school is a specialist unit I have no doubt they would be addressing the underlying issues at the same time, but this could take many years.

It saddens me that the article has given such a narrow view of the situation, in fact I don't think it should have been reported at all - it is hardly in the public interest.

MamaMoo_2

Thomas_Hardy wrote: »

Controlled harming is a proven method of managing self harm until a longer term solution is found, indeed in handing control to the individual it can help in their recovery. As the school is a specialist unit I have no doubt they would be addressing the underlying issues at the same time, but this could take many years.

It saddens me that the article has given such a narrow view of the situation, in fact I don't think it should have been reported at all - it is hardly in the public interest.

It's a very rarely used method, and only usually in hospitals on people with severe mental issues after many psychological tests and as a last resort. This doesn't appear to be what has happened here.
There are many alternatives to controlled harming, especially in the first instances before self-harming becomes an ingrained form of coping. It's also something I don't think should ever be introduced in a case involving a child.
It's also slightly pointless unless that child is going to have a safe, hygenic, controlled environment available 24/7. The feeling of needing to self harm doesn't limit itself to 9-3:30 Monday to Friday.

Thomas_Hardy

MamaMoo wrote: »

It's a very rarely used method, and only usually in hospitals on people with severe mental issues after many psychological tests and as a last resort. This doesn't appear to be what has happened here.
There are many alternatives to controlled harming, especially in the first instances before self-harming becomes an ingrained form of coping. It's also something I don't think should ever be introduced in a case involving a child.
It's also slightly pointless unless that child is going to have a safe, hygenic, controlled environment available 24/7. The feeling of needing to self harm doesn't limit itself to 9-3:30 Monday to Friday.

Given that it has been used with/ by myself for the past twenty years, outside a hospital environment, I can only disagree. I know several others that use it as a control also, of various ages - so it is certainly not that rare.

The school in question is a specialist unit and they are supervised on a 24/ 7 basis.

We don't know what other coping mechanisms have been tried with the child - we only have a very small part of the story.

MamaMoo_2

Thomas_Hardy wrote: »

Given that it has been used with/ by myself for the past twenty years, outside a hospital environment, I can only disagree. I know several others that use it as a control also, of various ages - so it is certainly not that rare.

The school in question is a specialist unit and they are supervised on a 24/ 7 basis.

We don't know what other coping mechanisms have been tried with the child - we only have a very small part of the story.

So how do you implement this controlled cutting? I'm curious as its never been something that's been suggested as a treatment for myself, but if it works it's definitely something I'd like to know more about.

Thomas_Hardy

MamaMoo wrote: »

So how do you implement this controlled cutting? I'm curious as its never been something that's been suggested as a treatment for myself, but if it works it's definitely something I'd like to know more about.

I'm not sure how much detail is suitable for an open forum, but now I have a sterile "kit" - a scalpel/ blades, antiseptic wipes (for me and for the scalpel), and agreed boundaries as to how far I will go. This is the control - the boundaries were set by myself, albeit with input from my psychiatrist. I agree that if I overstep those boundaries I seek medical help. And I don't overstep them, so it must work to some extent.

Self harm has never been seen as a big issue by the psychiatrists I have seen. I am not suggesting that it is (or should be) acceptable, but compared with other negative behaviours it is (in my case) one of the least damaging.

MamaMoo_2

Thomas_Hardy wrote: »

I'm not sure how much detail is suitable for an open forum, but now I have a sterile "kit" - a scalpel/ blades, antiseptic wipes (for me and for the scalpel), and agreed boundaries as to how far I will go. This is the control - the boundaries were set by myself, albeit with input from my psychiatrist. I agree that if I overstep those boundaries I seek medical help. And I don't overstep them, so it must work to some extent.

Self harm has never been seen as a big issue by the psychiatrists I have seen. I am not suggesting that it is (or should be) acceptable, but compared with other negative behaviours it is (in my case) one of the least damaging.

See, I have a kit that I keep sterile (which to me just seems sensible?) and I generally have my own boundaries, which if I overstepped I would call for help.
I just don't see how that's particularly controlled? You've set your own boundaries, and have agreements in place, but there's nothing to stop you from reneging on that?
I guess I just thought controlled cutting would be more, well, controlled. I generally find that when self harming, a person's mindset isn't always the most stable.
What you call controlled self harming, to me, is just self harming.
As somebody who, like you, has done it for years, you're at the same point I am and I haven't really had it addressed. I would love to stop the dependency but find that all too often the psychiatrists and psychologists are happy for it to continue as it's never been about causing serious damage or killing myself.
Personally, I think it would make much more sense to try and implement preventative measures before it becomes a part if everyday life.

System

MamaMoo wrote: »

There's nothing "politically correct" in thinking it's stupid to hand a child a razor blade an say "yeah, go slit your wrists, love"

I would suggest its similar to giving heroin addicts clean needles. If people are going to do things like this its probably a good idea to make sure the implements they use are clean.

Personally I think on this occasion it's better to assume that the trained professionals dealing with this have some idea of what they're doing. Despite the fact to a layman it seems ridiculous.