When Your Child is Cutting
A Parent's Guide to Helping Children Overcome Self-Injury
By Merry E. McVey-Noble, PhD, Sony Khemlani-Patel, PhD, Fugen Neziroglu, Phd, ABBP, ABPP
Self-injury is a difficult and uncomfortable subject for many since it deals with such intense emotions and behaviors. This team of authors and professionals has put together an excellent comprehensive resource for parents on cutting.
When Your Child Is Cutting begins with several pages dedicated to the facts about cutting and addresses a lot of the most common questions people have on the subject: Why would anyone hurt themelves on purpose? Is self-injury just a passing phase? Is it just a way to gain attention? Why is it important to get help?
The rest of the book is dedicated to the psychological and biological reasons behind cutting, the environmental factors behind cutting as well as the consequences, and four chapters exploring professional treatment options and specific strategies parents can implement to support their child's recovery.
Throughout the book are ideas for how to begin the difficult conversation and some sample questions to help guide the conversation. This is practical information anyone who has teenagers in their lives needs to be familiar with since self-injury is a growing problem.