The following is an item from Hafal’s Big Lottery-funded Young People’s Information Hub. To access the Hub please visit: http://www.hafal.org/hafal/yp_index.php.
A report by mental health charity YoungMinds says more support needs to be given to young people who self-harm.
Over 2,000 people – made up of GPs, teachers, teenagers and their parents – were questioned about their attitudes towards self-harm for the report. Researchers found that two out of three people would not feel comfortable talking to a young person who self-harms for fear they would say the wrong thing to them.
The report, called “Talking Taboos”, also found that almost half of the 200 doctors questioned felt they didn’t understand why someone would want to hurt themselves. More than 80% felt they had not had enough training specific to self-harm.
The report calls for more knowledge, awareness and understanding on self-harm. It states that healthcare professionals need training to provide increased awareness on self-harm and how to identify and support young people.
For more information on the report, and to download a copy, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/96k9pnp