Self-harm and the words that bind: a critique of
common perspectives

Allen, S

Abstract

The issue of self-harm is not only a widespread phenomenon but also a challenging one.
Nurses in particular are faced with this challenge, as they tend to be the primary professional
group when working with people who self-harm within health service provision. The
purpose of this paper is to offer a critical appraisal of common perspectives as reported in
the existing literature. Having highlighted these areas, the paper will attempt to address the
challenges faced by nurses and other healthcare professionals through the proposal of strategies,
including the suggestion that self-harm may be considered from a position of social
constructionism to achieve a more informed and effective response when working with
someone who self-harms.

Citation

common perspectives. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 14, 172-178. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2850.2007.01060.x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2007
• Deposit Date: Jan 12, 2017
• Journal: Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing
• Print ISSN: 1351-0126
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2850
• Publisher: Wiley
• Volume: 14
• Pages: 172-178
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2850.2007.01060.x
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2850.2007.01060.x
• Related Public URLs: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2850