Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Oct;32(5):1326-1334.
doi: 10.1111/inm.13164. Epub 2023 May 24.

Exploring the content of self-help toolkits as an intervention for non-suicidal self-injury in young people in England

Clare Fenton  1 , Leah Attwell  1 , Emma Standley  2 , Jannah Holmes  1
Affiliations

Exploring the content of self-help toolkits as an intervention for non-suicidal self-injury in young people in England

Clare Fenton et al. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2023 Oct.

Abstract

Non-suicidal self-harm has been increasing in young people over the last decade leading to several self-help interventions being developed. Self-help toolkits are given a variety of names, such as 'hope box' and 'self-soothe kit', but all seek to provide young people with the tools to manage thoughts to self-harm by bringing together a collection of personal items, distress tolerance activities and help-seeking prompts. They represent a low-cost, low-burden and accessible intervention. This study explored what child and adolescent mental health professionals working with young people are currently recommending as the content of these self-help toolkits. A questionnaire was sent to child and adolescent mental health services and residential units across England and received 251 responses from professionals. Sixty-six per cent described self-help tool kits as being effective or very effective for helping young people manage self-harm urges. The content was categorized into sensory items (subcategorized by sense), distraction activities, relaxation and mindfulness activities, seeking positives and coping strategies, with the caveat that all toolkits should be individualized. The results of this study help to inform the future manualization of the use of self-help toolkits in clinical practice as a self-harm intervention for children and young people.

Keywords: adolescent; child; coping strategies; mental health; self-harm.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Bentley, K.H., Nock, M.K. & Barlow, D.H. (2014) The four-function model of nonsuicidal self-injury: key directions for future research. Clinical Psychological Science, 2(5), 638-656. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/216770261351456
    1. Bishop, S.R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N., Carmody, J. et al. (2004) Mindfulness: a proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230-241. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077
    1. Chagnon, F. (2007) Coping mechanisms, stressful events and suicidal behavior among youth admitted to juvenile justice and child welfare services. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behaviour, 37(4), 439-452. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1521/suli.2007.37.4.439
    1. Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. (2008) Basics of qualitative research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
    1. Deveci, T. & Wyatt, M. (2022) Reflective writing and the self-perceived development of intrapersonal communication skills among first-year university students in the UAE. Reflective Practice, 23(1), 68-80. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2021.1978066

LinkOut - more resources