In Session: Addressing Non-Suicidal Self-injury in Children and Adolescents

Course overview

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a common, yet maladaptive, coping strategy used by many children and adolescents. Unfortunately, clinicians do not always have the necessary training to identify and effectively intervene with youth who engage in NSSI. At times, the behaviors are minimized by clinicians who misread NSSI as an attempt to garner attention or manipulate others. Unfortunately, when left untreated, NSSI can contribute to a host of negative outcomes. Youth who engage in NSSI frequently exhibit health-risk behaviors such as substance misuse, risky sexual behaviors, and maladaptive eating habits, as well as having higher rates of emotional distress and dysregulation. This course will provide you with an opportunity to apply your existing knowledge of non-suicidal self-injury to assess and intervene with an at-risk adolescent. By interacting with this individual in a simulated therapy session, you will see how your selection of responses impacts their level of risk and their outcome. Supervisory input will also help guide you through this simulation exercise. If you have not participated in in-depth training on non-suicidal self-injury assessment and interventions, we recommend that you review our other courses on this topic first. After learning about evidence-based approaches for identifying and intervening with non-suicidal self-injury, you can then use this simulation to reinforce your knowledge. The goal of this course is to provide addictions, behavioral health counseling, marriage and family therapy, psychology, and social work professionals in health and human services settings with an opportunity to apply your existing knowledge to address non-suicidal self-injurious behavior in children and adolescents.