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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffThere's no one best way to treat self-injury. Treatment is tailored to your specific issues and any related mental health conditions you might have, such as depression. Treating self-injury can take time, hard work and your own desire to recover. Because self-injury can become such a major part of your life and it's often accompanied by serious mental disorders, treatment with a mental health professional experienced in self-injury issues may be necessary.
Treatment options for self-injury include:
Psychotherapy
Also known as talk therapy, counseling or behavior therapy, psychotherapy can help you identify and manage underlying issues that trigger self-injury. Therapy can also help you learn skills to better tolerate stress, regulate your emotions, boost your self-image, better your relationships and improve your problem-solving skills.
Several types of psychotherapy in particular may be helpful, including:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- Psychodynamic psychotherapy
In addition to individual therapy sessions, family therapy or group therapy also may be recommended.
Medications
There are no medications that specifically treat self-injury. However, your doctor may recommend treatment with antidepressants or other psychiatric medications that can help improve depression, anxiety or other mental disorders commonly associated with self-injury. An improvement in these symptoms may help you feel less compelled to hurt yourself.
Psychiatric hospitalization
If you injure yourself severely or repeatedly, your doctor may recommend admission for psychiatric hospitalization. Hospitalization can provide a safe environment and more intensive treatment until you get through a crisis. Day treatment programs also may be an option.
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- Hewlett WA. Obsessive-compulsive disorder. In: Ebert MH, et al. Current Diagnosis and Treatment: Psychiatry. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3286970. Accessed May 3, 2010.
- Lloyd-Richardson EE, et al. Characteristics and functions of non-suicidal self-injury in a community sample of adolescents. Psychological Medicine. 2007;37:1183.
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- Hasking PA. Brief report: Emotion regulation and coping as moderators in the relationship between personality and self-injury. Journal of Adolescence. In press. Accessed May 3, 2010.
- Suicidal behavior in children and adolescents. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec19/ch300/ch300h.html. Accessed May 3, 2010.
- Klonsky ED, et al. Self-Injury: A Research Review for the Practitioner. Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session. 2007;63:1045.
- Claes L, et al. Brief report: The association between non-suicidal self-injury, self-concept and acquaintance with self-injurious peers in a sample of adolescents. Journal of Adolescence. In press. Accessed May 3, 2010.
- Factsheet: Self-injury. Mental Health America. http://www.nmha.org/go/information/get-info/self-injury. Accessed May 3, 2010.
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