‘Assisted’ self-harm isn’t ‘assisted’ at all – UK news
The Guardian, and other newspapers, are reporting that certain hospitals and mental health centres are ‘assisting’ people to self-injure, and going so far as to provide tools to hurt yourself with.
This is sensationalism. The newspapers are whipping up a storm. We have advised the NHS for many many years that when supporting a person in long-term care that it’s impossible to deny that person the right to hurt themselves. Yes, the right.
It’s counterproductive. If you take their control mechanism away, they just rebel and find other ways to hurt themselves in desperation. By recognising that self-harm a coping mechanism, health care professionals can then provide new ways of coping, and empower a person to make new choices.
FirstSigns supports the idea of respecting people’s choices, even if that choice is not ideal in the opinion of the doctor. FirstSigns supports the idea of providing privacy, and clean tools and materials for self-care after self-injurious behaviour. FirstSigns believes health care professionals should be protected from the distress caused by a person’s self-harm.
(Wedge]
