scholarly journals Understanding the Experience and Needs of School Counsellors When Working with Young People Who Engage in Self-Harm

Author(s):  
Ben Te Maro ◽  
Sasha Cuthbert ◽  
Mia Sofo ◽  
Kahn Tasker ◽  
Linda Bowden ◽  
...  

Self-harm rates are increasing globally and demand for supporting, treating and managing young people who engage in self-harm often falls to schools. Yet the approach taken by schools varies. This study aimed to explore the experience of school staff managing self-harm, and to obtain their views on the use of guidelines in their work. Twenty-six pastoral care staff from New Zealand were interviewed. Interviews were analyzed and coded using thematic analysis. Three themes emerged: The burden of the role; discrepancies in expectations, training, and experience; and the need for guidelines to support their work. This research, therefore, demonstrated a need for guidelines to support school staff to provide support around decision making and response to self-harm in the school environment.

Author(s):  
Cathy G. Bettman ◽  
Alexander Digiacomo

Abstract Currently, Australia’s school counsellors are increasingly being called upon to respond to adolescent mental health needs. Through semistructured interviews with seven school counsellors working with adolescents, this qualitative study aimed to capture the lived experiences of this group of practitioners. By adopting a phenomenological approach and using thematic analysis, this study provides insight into their profession: the current ambiguity surrounding their role; the opportunities and obstacles they face; as well as the often-present tension between stakeholders including parents, other school staff and external agencies. The findings of this study indicate that school counsellors are challenged by the need to be advocates not only for their students but also for themselves and their roles within the school context.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas D. Hughes ◽  
Louise Locock ◽  
Sue Simkin ◽  
Anne Stewart ◽  
Anne E. Ferrey ◽  
...  

Self-harm is common in young people, and can have profound effects on parents and other family members. We conducted narrative interviews with 41 parents and other family members of 38 young people, aged up to 25, who had self-harmed. Most of the participants were parents but included one sibling and one spouse. This article reports experiences of the parent participants. A cross-case thematic analysis showed that most participants were bewildered by self-harm. The disruption to their worldview brought about by self-harm prompted many to undergo a process of “sense-making”—by ruminative introspection, looking for information, and building a new way of seeing—to understand and come to terms with self-harm. Most participants appeared to have been successful in making sense of self-harm, though not without considerable effort and emotional struggle. Our findings provide grounds for a deeper socio-cultural understanding of the impact of self-harm on parents.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 295-297
Author(s):  
Charlie Waller

A guide from the University of Oxford and the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust offers practical ways in which schools can support young people at risk from self-harm, which school nurses can share with school staff members to help them respond.


2020 ◽  
pp. 135910452096450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iona Lewis-Smith ◽  
Laura Pass ◽  
Shirley Reynolds

An important component of some psychological therapies is the use of clients’ values to motivate behaviour change. Values are understood to be developed during childhood and adolescence but there has been limited exploration of how young people experience values and their function across contexts. This study aimed to explore adolescents’ understanding of the concept of ‘values’ and to elicit their experiences of values. Semi-structured, individual interviews were conducted with 11 adolescents aged 12–17 years. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes. Young people were readily able to discuss the meaning of ‘values’ and their own personal values. Three main themes were identified: (1) what values are (in general, and specific to themselves), (2) where values come from (relationships, education, growing up), and (3) why values are important (prioritising/decision making, reflecting on values is helpful). The adolescents in this study demonstrated an in-depth understanding of the meaning, origins and functions of values. The results suggest young people may welcome and benefit from opportunities to discuss their values, including in therapy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan R Johnson ◽  
Kirstin Ferguson ◽  
Jennifer Copley

Adolescent self-harm is prevalent in residential and secure care and is the cause of distress to those harming themselves, to the staff caring for them and for other young people living with them. This article sought service user views on what staff supports were effective and what were counter-productive in order to improve the care offered to young people. Seven young people living in residential or secure care were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used to elicit key themes. Global themes of safety and care were elicited. The young people understood and accepted that the role of staff was to provide these. Within these themes, they noted numerous responses that had both helpful and unhelpful effects, including increased observation, removal of means and extra collaborative support. Service users made numerous recommendations to increase the helpful effects of staff support. Young people provided informed and helpful guidance on how best to care for them. Their views can help mental health professionals and care staff increase their helpful responses making them more effective and less counter-productive. This study is a rare representation of the views of young people in residential and secure care and how to respond to their self-harm behaviour.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-159
Author(s):  
Hiran Thabrew ◽  
Ernest Gandeza ◽  
Giselle Bahr ◽  
David Bettany ◽  
Chris Bampton ◽  
...  

Objectives: Self-harm is common in New Zealand (NZ) young people and can have short-term and long-term consequences, including suicide. This study was undertaken to examine the extent to which evidence-based approaches for addressing self-harm are offered by Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (ICAMHS). Methods: A national survey of ICAMHS practitioners working with young people who self-harm was undertaken between May and July 2016. Results: Responses from 23 out of 30 ICAMHS confirmed self-harm was a familiar presentation and most commonly associated with diagnoses of depression, anxiety and borderline personality disorder. Cognitive behavioural therapy (47.1%, n = 8), dialectical behaviour therapy (47.1%, n = 8) and acceptance and commitment therapy (5.9%, n = 1) were the treatments of choice, but variably delivered. There were significant training gaps for all types of therapy. Conclusions: Although it is reassuring that many ICAMHS are using evidence-based approaches to address self-harm in young people, there is concerning variability in the way these therapies are delivered. Improvement in training in key modalities, further research into therapist performance and continuous evaluation of workforce development are needed to maximise the effectiveness of proven interventions and provide NZ young people with the state-of-the-art service they deserve.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Reynolds ◽  
Gary Latchford ◽  
Alistair J. A. Duff ◽  
Miles Denton ◽  
Tim Lee ◽  
...  

Young people with cystic fibrosis (CF) are asked to avoid a number of environments associated with increased infection risk, but in practice they need to balance this with competing priorities such as building and sustaining relationships with friends and family. This study explored the process by which young people make these decisions. Mixed methods were used: a vignette study presenting choices around engaging in activities involving a degree of infection risk and a thematic analysis of participant's accounts of their decision making. The eight participants chose to engage in high risk behaviours in 59% of the choices. All participants chose to engage in at least one risky behavior, though this was less likely when the risk was significant. Thematic analysis revealed large areas of misunderstanding and lack of knowledge, leading to some potentially worrying misconceptions about the nature of infections and risk. Young people with CF are not currently making informed decisions around activities that involve increased risk of infection, and there is an urgent need for CF teams to address this in information provision.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Denise M. Steers ◽  
Georgia L. Andrews ◽  
Esko J. Wiltshire ◽  
Angela J. Ballantyne ◽  
Sunny C. Collings ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie M Garratt ◽  
Ngaire M Kerse ◽  
Kathryn Peri ◽  
Monique F Jonas

Abstract Background Medication administration is a key service offered to individuals residing in residential aged care homes (RAC homes). A medication omission is an event where a prescribed medication is not taken by a resident before the next scheduled dose. Medication omissions are typically classed as errors, they have the potential to lead to harm if poorly managed, but may also stem from good clinical decision-making. Studies that critically appraise or support medication omissions in healthcare settings are limited. There is uncertainty around which medication omissions are problematic and how many on average a patient should experience. There have been several hospital-based studies, with limited sample sizes, timeframes, and inconsistent reporting of omissions. As the first population-level, RAC Home-specific study of its kind, this study quantifies the incidence, prevalence, and types of medication omissions in RAC homes on a national scale. Methods A retrospective review of de-identified, medication administration e-records from December 1 st 2016 to December 31 st 2017 was conducted. Demographic details of residents, care staff competency levels, medications, and RAC ownership types were included in the review and analysis. Results A total of 11, 015 residents from 374 RAC homes had active medication charts; 8,020 resided in care over the entire data collection period. A mean rate of 3.40 medications doses were omitted per 100 dispensed medications doses per resident (s.d. 7.27). Approximately 73% of residents had at least one dose omission. The most common selected omission category was ‘not-administered’ (49.9%), followed by ‘refused’ (34.6%). The mean rate of omission was found to be slightly higher in corporate operated RAC Homes (3.73 versus 3.33), with greater variation. The most commonly omitted medications were Analgesics and Laxatives. Forty-eight percent of all dose omissions were recorded without a comment justifying the omission. Conclusions Compared to other studies medication omissions within RAC homes in New Zealand are not as common as previously proposed. This study sets out the first national-level rate of medication omissions per resident over a one-year timeframe. Subsequent studies will address the medications omitted, the clinical significance of omissions and the place of medication omissions within clinical decision-making.


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