Course | Non-Suicidal Self-Injury 101

Faculty Author

Janis Whitlock

Details

Type: self-paced
Dates: Start Now, you have 183 days to complete this course once enrolled.

Course Description

Non-suicidal self-injury is intentionally hurting the body (e.g. cutting, burning etc..) but without suicidal intent. Because it often looks like a suicidal gesture it tends to evoke fear and confusion. Its very nature seems to defy deep instinctual human drives for self-preservation as well strong social taboos related to self-inflicted injury. It is, after all, quite puzzling. Why would someone choose to cut up or otherwise hurt his/her body? Why would they do this in way that looks like a suicide attempt but then insist that it actually has nothing to do with suicide at all? How do we understand this, let alone effectively address and prevent it? This course will review self-injury contexts, epidemiology, function, vectors for contagion and spread, and strategies for detection, intervention and prevention. The focus is on self-injury in community (non-clinical) populations of youth, but does include information useful for anyone wanting to understand core common features, functions, and intervention strategies.

Benefits to the Learner

By the end of this 8-hour training, participants will be able to:
Identify the developmental and contextual contexts contributors to development, maintenance and cessation of non-suicidal self-injury
Identify key features of self-injury epidemiology, function, and recovery
Describe vectors for contagion and spread
Understand core principles and practices in effective self-injury detection and intervention
Discuss implications of the above for development of protocols and intervention strategies
Locate and use self-injury resources (articles, books, websites)

Target Audience

Youth serving professionals operating in school systems, systems of higher education, and community-based organizations and mental health providers