(founded by NAWP (Newham Asian Women’s Project)

Having worked with NAWP previously, we we’re pleased to be invited to speak to their Self-harm Group, an association of health care professionals who meet regularly to discuss and improve health care policies and their implementation within East London.

Jules and I found our way through Stratford and were warmly welcomed by Ami; then we were straight into it.

I didn’t deliver the usual LifeSIGNS ‘Training Package’ as these were professionals who were already working on the front-line with people affected by self-harm and self-injury, so I only spoke for an hour about LifeSIGNS’ perspectives; I talked about the definitions of self-harm and self-injury, and the acronyms that the NHS uses, such as SIB and DSH. I was pleased to take questions throughout my seminar, and it’s clear that the East London Self-harm Group have experience of the subject and some ambitious goals about the treatment and care of people who self-injure.

NAWP will continue to promote their recent research findings, and their insightful, user-lead, DVD. The East London Self-harm Group also showed an interest in directly involving ‘service users’ (or people who self-injure) to bring personal perspective to the group’s work.

Many thanks to NAWP for inviting us to attend their self-harm working group, I hope we can help support their progressive work.

Wedge