Compassionate care for people who self-harm: principles, tools and techniques
Intended for healthcare professionals
CPD    

Compassionate care for people who self-harm: principles, tools and techniques

Gillian Rayner Reader/associate professor counselling and psychotherapy, community health and midwifery, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England
Karen Wright Professor in nursing, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To understand the benefits of compassionate care for people who self-harm

  • To learn about tools that can be used to provide compassionate care such as urge surfing and ‘compassionate kit bags’

  • To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers)

  • To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers)

People who self-harm tend to find it challenging to accept care and compassion from others and to be compassionate towards themselves. Providing compassionate care to people who self-harm can be a soothing intervention that reduces their distress and/or helps them manage their distress. Nurses can support people who self-harm on their journey towards recovery by delivering interventions informed by compassion-focused therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy.

This article offers insights into compassionate care for people who self-harm and advice on how to provide it. Tools and techniques for enhancing compassion in the care of people who self-harm – including formulation, urge surfing, compassionate kit bags and compassionate wound care – are described. A case study outlines the importance of showing compassion to people who self-harm when they seek support from healthcare services.

Mental Health Practice. 26, 2, 34-41. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2022.e1631

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@kmwright1

Correspondence

GRayner@uclan.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Rayner G, Wright K (2022) Compassionate care for people who self-harm: principles, tools and techniques. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2022.e1631

Published online: 20 December 2022

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