Self-Harm

I have extensive training, expertise, and experience treating non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and I am happy to provide a complimentary consult to anyone engaging in self-harm or having urges to self-harm, to determine whether DBT-informed therapy could be an effective treatment option.

Using Cognitive behavioral Therapy (CBT), I am able to guide you to healthier coping mechanisms.

Building skills and supports to cope with emotional pain, suffering, and numbness; increasing positive meaningful life experiences

Whether through cutting, hitting, or using a "good" behavior to the point of hurting ones self, many people will try to soothe distressing emotions or thoughts by hurting themself, usually beginning in their teen years. In session, we will talk through the purpose of the behavior, what it "gives", and find safer alternatives to achieve the same goals, while also working through the pain which led to the self-harm in the first place.

When a person becomes overwhelmed and distressed, they may look to various avenues of relief to reduce their uncomfortable feelings, including self-harm. Self harming behaviors can be seen as a coping skill that a person acquires when they do not have other tools in their toolbox to navigate the challenges they may face. When working to address self harm, the main focus of treatment is finding new coping skills that encourage healing and help keep a person safe when facing distress.

I work with teens and adults who experience self-harming thoughts and behaviors to help them process their experiences.

I have 8 years of experience working with individuals that have significant urges to harm themselves or are experiencing suicidal ideation. I think that recognition, honesty, openness, and having a supportive ally, are really important steps in beginning the path of challenging self harm urges and actions.

I provide a safe, nonjudgmental space for individuals struggling with self-harm. I understand that self-harm often arises as a coping mechanism for overwhelming emotions. My approach focuses on helping you uncover the underlying issues, develop healthier coping strategies, and rebuild self-compassion. Together, we’ll work toward breaking the cycle of self-harm and creating a foundation for healing and emotional well-being.

DBT is a evidenced based treatment for individuals who have several mental health conditions including: Self Harming Behaviors. We assess for any and all self harming and work on ways to effectively decrease that behavior by applying and using skills learned from group.

While some providers may run away from this problem, I run towards treating it! One of the best things I get to experience as a professional is when I get to teach someone how to reduce self-harming behaviors and get their needs met in a healthier way. I have years of experience treating this behavior with successful resolution of self-harming behaviors. There is a reason for self-harming and when we can discover why, we can discover what to do instead.

I help people identify triggers that make them feel overwhelmed by their emotions and help them to find healthy ways to feel more in control.

Before becoming a therapist, I worked within acute mental/behavioral health care at Seattle Children's Hospital for four years. Many individuals I saw were working through self-harm behaviors and suicidality.

I understand the difference between suicidal thoughts and self-harm. Self-harm is a coping skill to handle everything going on, but it can be quite destructive and unhealthy. I want to help you learn new coping skills to get through your everyday challenges.

By using DBT, I help my clients to understand the chain of events leading to self injurious behavior and replace the behavior with more adaptive coping! I also look for secondary gains that might be reinforcing self injurious behavior when I have a client who is really stuck in their patterns.

Self-harm is something that is often shared about and focused on by my clients. I approach self-harm with a calm, trauma-informed lens that focuses on the safety of the individual as well as addresses the underlying causes and contributing factors. I have worked with clients who engage in self-harm in a variety of settings including immediate crisis response, intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization, and outpatient individual and group therapy.

Self-Harm is a symptom of a deep pain from within us that we're just trying to escape in some way or another. I personally believe that self harm can be its own kind of addiction. Much like with substance abuse, in order to address it, I like to create immediate de-escalation and harm reduction techniques, and then move inward to address the underlying cause.

I have experience working with clients who self harm currently or have self harmed in the past. My clients learn skills to reduce frequency and intensity of self harm.