Research suggests that two in three teachers, parents and young people think that they would say the wrong thing if someone turned to them about self-harm. Despite this the overwhelming majority of all three groups want to open the dialogue so young people know where they can turn to (Youngminds, 2015).

 

There is a need to increase knowledge and communication around self-harm across all three groups. This will promote more consistency and empathy in the responses given to those who are self-harming. Resources and interventions need to enable people to talk more openly at a broad conceptual level to combat narrow views that exacerbate stigma and help all three groups provide better support to a young person who is self-harming.