Working With People Who Self-harm

Self-harm is a complex issue, but when people talk about self-harm, they usually use this term to refer to people who cause ache or harm to their own body as a way of managing emotional or external stress. In this module, we will discuss common risk factors for self-harm, potential self-harm triggers, and explore how you may best support someone who self-harms in your role as a healthcare professional. This module also includes ligature training, and, by the end of the module, you should be able to describe and implement safe and effective techniques when rescuing a person from ligature (hanging).

Please be aware that this module discusses both self-harm and ligature training in depth. Videos are used when appropriate to highlight people’s experiences of self-harm, and demonstrate safe ligature practice. Please be careful if you yourself are struggling, as you may find this material triggering. You can exit the module at any time. If you are distressed by any of the content within this module, please seek support from friends and loved ones, and/or from professional support services.

If you’re unsure where to turn, you may wish to reach out to one of the following free listening services:

• Call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: jo@samaritans.org for a reply within 24 hours
• Text “SHOUT” to 85258 to contact the Shout Crisis Text Line, or text “YM” if you’re under 19

If you prefer to webchat, please reach out to one of the following services:

• Self Injury Support webchat (for women and girls) is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7pm to 9.30pm
• CALM webchat (for men) is open from 5pm to midnight every day

Please take your time to complete this course. We anticipate this module will take you 30 minutes to complete. Once you have passed the accompanying assessment, you will receive a certificate of completion to be used to develop your portfolio alongside a record of your CPD credits.