Treating Self-injury

Gain knowledge and skills to confidently and effectively treat mild to moderate Non-suicidal Self-injury and to manage severe presentations of this frequently misunderstood behavior.

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About the course

Start date
Immediate access
Length
4 hours | Self-directed
Who this course is for
For Mental Health Professionals, Health Professionals
Accreditation
4 CE / CME CreditsSee all accreditation details
Organization Enquiries
Find out more

Non-suicidal self-injury is a frequent presentation in clinical practice, particularly among adolescents and young adults, yet it often evokes strong reactions and uncertainty in clinicians about how to respond.  Is this self-injury or suicidality?  What needs immediate action?  What can be managed in outpatient or school-based settings?  What actually helps?

This pragmatic, easy-to-complete course featuring leading international authority Dr. Barent Walsh will give you the confidence to skillfully assess, manage, and treat self-injury presentations using evidence-based principles.  With lived experience interviews with real patients and expert therapy demonstrations, this course will give you the tools to:-

  • Identify and assess the self-injury, and differentiate it from suicidal behavior

  • Support clients with best practice strategies grounded in the theories of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), tailored to address the specific function of each client’s self-injury

  • Manage risk appropriately so you can feel clear about your scope of practice

  • Skillfully navigate setbacks in treatment while protecting your own wellbeing as a clinician

In less than a single day (just four hours) of self-paced learning, you will have a clear framework you can apply straight away to address the nuances of this often complex presentation. 

Treating Self-injury
$190
Enroll now
Learn from a World Expert in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

“Underneath it all, there are often layers of human experience that contribute to the emotional discomfort that requires self-injury, and over time, the client starts to peel them away, until you get to the heart of the matter.” Dr. Barent Walsh

This course is taught by Dr. Barent Walsh, a leading authority on non-suicidal self-injury and related self-destructive behaviors.  He is the author of the bestselling Treating Self-Injury: A Practical Guide, the executive director emeritus of Open Sky Community Services, and a teaching associate in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.  He also has specialized expertise in the treatment of atypical, severe non-suicidal self-injury.  Dr. Walsh’s warm and practical teaching style is characterized by a deep respect for patients and their suffering.  

You’ll also hear from a panel of expert teachers and practitioners in the area of self-injury who offer clinically applicable insights drawn from up-to-date knowledge of evidence-based treatment, as well as their own real-world expertise.

barrent walsh
Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for psychologists, counselors, social workers, psychotherapists, and other mental health professionals working with adolescents or adults who engage in non-suicidal self-injury.

It may be especially valuable for:

  • School counselors and school psychologists seeking guidance on assessment, risk, social contagion, prevention, and what can be managed within school settings

  • Private practitioners and outpatient clinicians wanting greater confidence in assessing and treating self-injury and knowing when and how to refer on

  • Early career clinicians looking for structured, practical training in an area that often evokes uncertainty

How This Course Helps You in Practice

By the end of this course, you’ll have the tools to:

  • Identify non-suicidal self-injury and assess its severity and function

  • Understand why people engage in non-suicidal self-injury, including how self-injury differs from suicidal behavior

  • Assess more severely affected clients, and refer on to other suitable treatments if necessary

  • Treat mild to moderate self-injury using strategies such as distraction, mindfulness, and visualization drawn from CBT and DBT frameworks 

  • Walk the line between validating self-injury and condoning it 

  • Navigate setbacks in real-world treatment

  • Overcome the anxiety that can come with treating self-injury

  • Know the steps to take to maintain your own self-care and to prevent compassion fatigue 

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Tangible Guidance for Common Clinical Challenges

This course addresses the specific challenges that clinicians often encounter when working with self-injury.  This includes issues like: 

  • How to assess when self-injury may require escalation to emergency services (and when it doesn’t)  

  • Recognising specific red flags indicating escalation and severity of behaviour 

  • Skills for reducing clients’ sense of rejection when referring on is necessary  

  • When and how to assess wounds or scars in a clinically appropriate way 

  • How to validate the function of self-injury for the client while still working to reduce the behavior 

  • Why removing means of self-harm is not the same as removing means of suicide 

  • Specific guidance for school counselors and therapists working with young people, including the unique challenges of social contagion  Comment end 

Course Format

This self-paced course includes:

  • Ten modules comprised of four hours of content related to the assessment, management, and treatment of self-injury, including modules relating to social contagion, setbacks, and therapist self-care 

  • Direct teaching from Dr. Walsh and a faculty of international experts in self-injury 

  • Therapy demonstrations of each stage of treatment, including assessment, teaching specific coping skills, and referring on complex cases

  • 12 months of access to review the material at any time

If you would like to request an invoice, please fill out a form here.

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Course Overview

Course Modules

Course Excerpts

 

Accredited Continuing Education Credits

This Treating Self-Injury training is designed for mental health professionals worldwide. Upon completion, you'll receive an official certificate that may be submitted to relevant registration or licensing bodies for continuing professional development, where applicable.

4 CE/CME credits are designated for a range of licensed mental health professions, including:

  • psychologists, social workers, counsellors,

  • physicians, nurses,

  • marriage and family therapists,

  • addiction professionals.

Acceptance for other professions may vary by board and jurisdiction. View the complete CE/CME accreditation details and board approvals here.

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