The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health
Nicholas J. Westers Psy.D. ABPP
65 episodes
1 month ago
Why do people self-injure? And what is the best way to respond when someone tells us they self-injure? Dr. Nicholas Westers, a clinical psychologist at Children's Health and Associate Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, collaborates with the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS) to interview the leading experts in the field of self-injury and self-harm as well as individuals with lived experience of self-injury and parents and family members of those who have self-injured. This podcast is meant to be a resource for parents, professionals, and people with lived experience.
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Why do people self-injure? And what is the best way to respond when someone tells us they self-injure? Dr. Nicholas Westers, a clinical psychologist at Children's Health and Associate Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, collaborates with the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS) to interview the leading experts in the field of self-injury and self-harm as well as individuals with lived experience of self-injury and parents and family members of those who have self-injured. This podcast is meant to be a resource for parents, professionals, and people with lived experience.
Janis Whitlock, PhD, from Cornell University and Senior Advisor for The JED Foundation explains how caregivers with lived experience of self-injury can navigate conversations with their children about their own history of self-harm, and how parents can manage heightened limits to confidentiality when their child who self-injures turns 18 while in therapy.
Drs. Greg Lengel, Maria Zetterqvist, Amy Brausch, and Jason Washburn explain why they now advocate for nonsuicidal self-injury and self-harm to be considered a clinical specifier rather than a disorder in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Kirsty Hird, PhD, from The Kids Research Institute Australia explains in depth why people self-injure or self-harm according to six specific theoretical models of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI).
Lisa Van Hove, PhD, from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels University) in Belgium reveals the prevalence and characteristics of self-injury and self-harm among older adults (ages 60+).
Moye Xin, PhD, from Xi’an University in China shares insights from his research exploring how conflict about one's gender role may increase risk for engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury and self-harm.
Ben from California shares his story of lived experience of self-injury as a man, including how he views recovery and copes with significant scarring from self-harm wounds.
Sylvanna Mirichlis, PhD, and Stephen Lewis, PhD, talk all things Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD). We also share some of our favorite clips from past episodes for those new to the topic of self-harm.
Spencer Ellison and Jennifer Muehlenkamp, PhD, from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire tell us what they learned when they asked therapists about their willingness to treat individuals who engage in nonsuicidal self-injury or self-harm.
Tattoo artist Elena from Illusions by Ink Studio in Irving, Texas, discusses paramedical tattooing and invites her client with lived experience of self-injury to share her experience with camouflage tattooing of her self-harm scars.
Ellie Wildbore from the United Kingdom and National Health Service (NHS) shares her story of lived experience of atypical severe self-injury, her research on self-harm, and her experience as one of the first Lived Experience Research Ambassadors working in NHS mental health.
Maryam Gholamrezaei, PhD, C.Psych, from Toronto, Canada, discusses self-injury and help-seeking among ethnically diverse populations and shares cultural insights into reasons for self-harm among individuals in the Middle East.
Michelle Hiner, MS, from Rutgers University in New Jersey breaks down how high and low arousal emotions affect the perception of pain among those who engage in self-injury and self-harm.
Johan Bjureberg, Ph.D., from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden walks us through Emotion Regulation Individual Therapy for Adolescents (ERITA) for nonsuicidal self-injury and self-harm.
Nicholas J. Westers, Psy.D., ABPP from Children's Health and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas provides practical tips and considerations for supporting individuals who engage in self-injury and self-harm.
Lotte Rubæk, MSc, from Denmark discusses the role of social media among individuals who self-injure as well as why she resigned from her role on Meta's (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) self-harm global expert panel.
Christina Robillard, M.Sc., from the University of Victoria in Canada explains the relationship between self-criticism and self-injury as well as other self-harm behaviors like disordered eating.
Thomas from Ontario, Canada shares his story of lived experience of self-injury and gender dysphoria, including how self-harm evolved for him over time as a transgender man.
The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health
Why do people self-injure? And what is the best way to respond when someone tells us they self-injure? Dr. Nicholas Westers, a clinical psychologist at Children's Health and Associate Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, collaborates with the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS) to interview the leading experts in the field of self-injury and self-harm as well as individuals with lived experience of self-injury and parents and family members of those who have self-injured. This podcast is meant to be a resource for parents, professionals, and people with lived experience.
