Young people share experiences of self-harm at unique event
Young people who have experienced self-harm will join researchers from the University of Nottingham to share their experiences of being part of a unique research project at an event on the 23rd July at The Contemporary. The young people have been instrumental in helping to test and shape a research project led by the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham who have developed a unique Card sort Task for Self-harm (CaTS) to help people understand and talk about the pattern of thoughts, feelings, events and behaviours leading to self-harm. The project is a collaboration between academics, young people with expertise by experience and Harmless (an award winning user-led support service for self-harm and suicide prevention). As many as 1 in 5 young people self-harm, that is 6-7 people in an average classroom. The card sort task for self harm aims to tackle this by providing a way to map out thoughts and feelings on a timeline leading up to and immediately after a self-harm event. These can then be used to open up conversations and help formulate possible ways to help. The research team has also been exploring how to use the task with people experiencing eating difficulties.
