The makers of ‘The Secret Cut’ have been kind enough to send LifeSIGNS a copy of their DVD; we would like to offer it to a member so that you can review it for us, and let British people know your thoughts on this American production.

If you live in the UK and would like to review ‘The Secret Cut’ DVD for LifeSIGNS, please email Wedge@lifesigns.org.uk with a little background about yourself, such as your first-name and how long you’ve been a member of LifeSIGNS (or a reader of our PDF Newsletter). Your review will be published in time around the web perhaps, but only your first-name / nickname will ever be shown.

You can view clips and read their website, however, you need to be aware that their web design is triggering, and that the DVD focuses greatly on the behaviour of self-injury.

I feel this video is aimed at shocking parents and teachers into taking self-injury seriously; the heavy focus on the way people hurt themselves and how teens hide their self-injury is a little sensationalistic I feel for people who know about self-injury. The website and the video rely heavily on bloody imagery, and real photographs of wounds, tools and scars.

A third of the way through, the video makes a great distinction between self-injury and suicide.

I feel the video gets better as it goes on, but that the initial 15 minutes or so are sensationalistic and produced in a manner aimed to shock. I feel that self-injury is a shocking and important enough subject without going overboard on triggering images. This video is about teen self-injury – it does not touch on adult self-injury and even says that ‘most teens’ do not go on to self-injure as adults.

At LifeSIGNS, we know that when the media talk about teenagers, there are young adults and older adults who feel neglected and without hope. We know that self-injury can affect people of all ages, and from all backgrounds.

As well as book reviews, we’re interested in seeing videos made by our members – you can check out our two new web videos online now.