Understanding and supporting children who self-harm: Giving them a voice

In this podcast episode, we hear from Dr Lyn O’Grady, a community psychologist, and David Newman, a narrative therapist and social worker, as they share their insights on recognising and responding to self-harming behaviour with children.  

Lyn and David emphasise the importance of understanding children’s underlying distress and despair while giving their self-harming behaviour a voice in therapy. They specifically highlight how a child-led approach helps prevent power imbalances and further pressurising of children. They also speak about how collaboration and recognising children’s actions can foster helpful pathways. 

Both Lyn and David were part of a broader conversation with Emerging Minds about their work with children who experience suicidal ideation, which included discussions about self-harming behaviour. For more insights from Lyn and David, check out our Understanding and responding to childhood suicidal ideation online course. 

In this episode you will learn about: 

• non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal ideation in children [01:59]

• what children want from practitioners [04:14]

• how to avoid traditional adult–child power dynamics [09:26]

• safety planning [12:50]

• acknowledging a child’s sense of agency [14:32]

Further information and resources:

Understanding and responding to childhood suicidal ideation [online course]  

Working with children affected by suicide – part one [podcast episode]  

Working with children affected by suicide – part two [podcast episode]  

Childhood suicidal ideation through a narrative therapy lens [podcast episode] 

Understanding and responding to childhood suicidal ideation [webinar recording] 

Practice papers on suicidal ideation and self-harm will be published soon. 

For families:  

How to support children who are experiencing distress [podcast episode]  

Supporting children with big feelings [podcast episode]