The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health

In this episode, host and producer of The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast, Dr. Nicholas Westers, shares his own thoughts about how media portray nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) as well as suicide and mass shootings. He walks us through media guidelines for responsibly reporting and depicting each in the news, including the first ever NSSI media guidelines he published with ISSS colleagues. This marks the second solo episode of the podcast.

Media Guidelines:

• Suicide: Read the suicide reporting guidelines published by the World Health Organization (WHO) here, learn about ethical reporting guidelines for media put forth by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) here, and visit reportingonsuicide.org to review those offered by Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE).
• Mass Shootings: Read about media guidelines for responsible reporting on mass shootings put forth by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) at www.rtdna.org/mass-shootings or visit reportingonmassshootings.org (this link is not currently active but could be reactivated in the future).
• Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI): Read about our International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS) media guidelines for NSSI and self-harm below. Watch Dr. Westers' interview with the British Journal of Psychiatry, the journal that published these guidelines here. See excellent resources provided by the Self-Injury & Recovery Resources (SIRR) at Cornell University at selfinjury.bctr.cornell.edu, including resources for the media here. Below are additional resources referenced in this episode.

1. Westers, N. J., Lewis, S. P., Whitlock, J., Schatten, H. T., Ammerman, B., Andover, M. S., & Lloyd-Richardson, E. E.(2021). Media guidelines for the responsible reporting and depicting of non-suicidal self-injury. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 219(2), 415-418.
2. Westers, N. J. (2024). Media representations of nonsuicidal self-injury. In E. E. Lloyd-Richardson, I. Baetens, & J. Whitlock (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of nonsuicidal self-injury (pp. 771-786). Oxford University Press.
3. Phillips, D. P. (1974). The influence of suggestion on suicide: Substantive and theoretical implications of the Werther effect. American Sociological Review, 39(3), 340–354.
4. Niederkrotenthaler, T., Voracek, M., Herberth, A., Till, B., Strauss, M., Etzersdorfer, E., Eisenwort, B., & Sonneck, G. (2010). Role of media reports in completed and prevented suicide: Werther v. Papageno effects. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 197(3), 234– 243.

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot  and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."

In this episode, Dr. Rachel Zelkowitz defines trauma and its prevalence among individuals who self-injure, delineates posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from complex PTSD (C-PTSD), and discusses common treatments for addressing trauma, including Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Prolonged Exposure (PE). With interest in treating military veterans and active duty service members, Dr. Zelkowitz provides insights into nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), self-harm, and trauma among military members.

Learn more about Dr. Zelkowitz and her work here, and learn more about common treatments for trauma at the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov. 

Below are links to some of the research referenced in today's episode:

1. Gromatsky, M., Halverson, T. F., Dillon, K. H., Wilson, L. C., LoSavio, S. T., Walsh, S., Mellows, C., Mann, A. J., Goodman, M., & Kimbrel, N. A. (2023). The prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury in military personnel: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma Violence Abuse, 24(5), 2936-2952.
2. Liu, R. T., Scopelliti, K. M., Pittman, S. K., & Zamora, A. S. (2018). Childhood maltreatment and non-suicidal self- injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Psychiatry, 5(1), 51–64.
3. Harned, M. S., Korslund, K. E., Foa, E. B., & Linehan, M. M. (2012). Treating PTSD in suicidal and self-injuring women with borderline personality disorder: Development and preliminary evaluation of a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Prolonged Exposure Protocol. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 50(6), 381-6.
4. Harned, M. S., Schmidt, S. C., Korslund, K. E., & Gallop, R. J.(2021). Does adding the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Prolonged Exposure (DBT PE) protocol for PTSD to DBT improve outcomes in public mental health settings? A pilot nonrandomized effectiveness trial with benchmarking. Behavior Therapy, 52(3), 639-655.

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot  and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."

Two topics are covered in this episode: (1) how parents with lived experience of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) can navigate conversations with their children about their own scarring and wounds, and (2) how parents (with or without lived experience) can navigate conversations about self-injury with their young adult children when they turn 18. 

Dr. Whitlock is emerita research faculty at Cornell University, a former Associate Director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, and the founder and director of the Self-Injury & Recovery Resources (SIRR) research program, which serves as one of the best and most comprehensive collations of online resources about self-injury: www.selfinjury.bctr.cornell.edu. It is a go-to resource for parents, therapists, friends, family members, schools, other caring adults, the media, and individuals with lived experience of self-injury. Dr. Whitlock is also Senior Advisor for The JED Foundation. To learn more about The JED Foundation, visit https://www.jedfoundation.org/.

Below is some of the work referenced in this episode:

1. Whitlock, J., & Lloyd-Richardson, E. E. (2019). Healing self-injury: A compassionate guide for parents and other loved ones. Oxford University Press.
2. Taliaferro, L. A., Jang, S. T., Westers, N. J., Muehlenkamp, J. J., Whitlock, J. L., & McMorris, B. J. (2020). Associations between connections to parents and friends and non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents: The mediating role of developmental assets. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25(2), 359-371.
3. Kibitov, A. A., & Mazo, G. E. (2023). Genetics and epigenetics of nonsuicidal self-injury: A narrative review. Russian Journal of Genetics, 59(12), 1265-1276.
4. Dawkins, J., Hasking, P., & Boyes, M. (2021). Knowledge of parental nonsuicidal self-injury in young people who self-injure: The mediating role of outcome expectancies. Journal of Family Studies, 27(4), 479–490.

Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:

1. Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.
2. Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at [email protected]
3. Want to be involved in research? Send us a message at [email protected] and we will see if we can match you to an active study.
4. Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot  and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."

In this episode, four of the top experts in researching and treating nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) talk about the research behind NSSI Disorder, the evolution of how they now think about NSSI within the context of the DSM, and why they now advocate for an NSSI specifier rather than an NSSI Disorder in the DSM. They also delineate their proposed criteria for self-harm as a specifier and both the positive and negative consequences of doing so.

Below are papers referenced in this episode:

1. Lengel, G. J., Muehlenkamp, J. J., Zetterqvist, M., Ammerman, B. A., Brausch, A. M., & Washburn, J. J. (2025). Non-suicidal self-injury: proposal to shift designation from disorder to a clinical specifier. The Lancet Psychiatry. Online advanced publication.
2. Shaffer, D., & Jacobson, C. (2009). Proposal to the DSM-V childhood disorder and mood disorder work groups to include non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) as a DSM-V disorder. American Psychiatric Association, 1-21.
3. Muehlenkamp, J. J. (2005). Self-injurious behavior as a separate clinical syndrome. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75(2), 324–333.
4. Brausch, A. (2019). Diagnostic classification of nonsuicidal self-injury. In J. J. Washburn (Ed.), Nonsuicidal self-injury: Advances in research and practice (pp. 71-87). Routledge.

NONSUICIDAL SELF-INJURY SPECIFIER (PROPOSED CRITERIA):

A. The specifier should be used when the nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior is characterized by the following:

1. The individual intentionally engages in NSSI behavior to inflict bodily damage or pain
2. The individual's NSSI behavior is recent, such that it occurred at least once during the past month
3. The individual’s NSSI behavior is repetitive, such that it occurred on about 5 or more days in an individual’s lifetime

Note: culturally specific NSSI behavior (e.g., piercings and tattoos) and harm that is habitual (e.g., scab picking, nail biting, and hair pulling) should not be considered to be NSSI unless the behavior is explicitly for the purposes of causing damage or pain to one’s body. The NSSI specifier can still be applied if the behavior occurs under the influence of substances, as long as the behavior meets the required features.

Coding note: use code Z91.52 for individuals with a previous history of NSSI when all criteria except for recency are met (A2).

Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:

1. Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.
2. Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at [email protected]
3. Want to be involved in research? Send us a message at [email protected] and we will see if we can match you to an active study.
4. Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot  and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."

In this episode, Nani Kim, RN from the University of Texas at Austin talks all things help-seeking for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). This includes common reasons people give for choosing to seek help for self-harm, common forms of help-seeking behavior for NSSI, how often individuals who self-injure seek help for their self-injury, why they choose to seek help, what types of help they receive, and what happens when they seek help for self-injury.

Below are a few references from this episode:

1. Kim, N., Young, C. C., Kim, B. R., Rew, L., & Westers, N. J. (in press). Help-seeking behaviors in adolescents and young adults who engage in nonsuicidal self-injury: An integrative review. Journal of Adolescent Health. Advance online publication (free to access through August 7, 2025).
2. Nadler, A. (1987). Determinants of help seeking behaviour: The effects of helper’s similarity, task centrality and recipient’s self esteem. European Journal of Social Psychology, 17(1), 57-67.
3. Mackesy, C. (2019). The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse: Inspiring conversations on hope, love and personal growth. HarperOne.

Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:

1. Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.
2. Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at [email protected]
3. Want to be involved in research? Send us a message at [email protected] and we will see if we can match you to an active study.
4. Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot  and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."

Dr. Kirsty Hird, a Research Officer in the Youth Mental Health team at The Kids Research Institute Australia, adds to Episode 1 of The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast by explaining in depth and in layman's terms why people self-injure according to the six most common/popular theoretical models. Connect with Dr. Hird on LinkedIn here, view her staff profile here, and follow her on ResearchGate here. Below are two of her papers related to today's interview as well as a few other resources referenced in this episode:

1. Hird, K., Hasking, P., & Boyes, M. (2023). A comparison of the theoretical models of NSSI. In E.E. Lloyd-Richardson, I. Baetens, & J. Whitlock (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of nonsuicidal self-injury (pp. 24-40). Oxford University Press.
2. Hird, K., Hasking, P., & Boyes, M. (2022). Relationships between outcome expectancies and non-suicidal self-injury: Moderating roles of emotion regulation difficulties and self-efficacy to resist self-injury. Archives of Suicide Research, 26(4), 1688-1701.
3. Gray, N., Uren, H., Pemberton, E., & Boyes, M. (2023). Profiling ambivalence in the context of nonsuicidal self-injury. Journal of Clinical Psychology,  79(8), 1699-1712.
4. Ramsey, W. A., Berlin, K. S., Del Conte, G., Lightsey, O. R., Schimmel-Bristow, A., Marks, L. R., & Strohmer, D. C. (2021). Targeting self-criticism in the treatment of nonsuicidal self-injury in dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents: a randomized clinical trial. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 26(4), 320-330.
5. Gratz, K., & Tull, M. (2025). Acceptance-based emotion regulation therapy: A clinician’s guide to treating emotion dysregulation and self-destructive behaviors using an evidence-based therapy drawn from ACT and DBT. Harbinger Press.

Below are links to the original 6 theoretical models discussed in this episode:

1. Four Function Model - Nock, M. K., & Prinstein, M. J. (2004). A functional approach to the assessment of self-mutilative behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(5), 885–890.
2. Experiential Avoidance Model - Chapman, A. L., Gratz, K. L., & Brown, M. Z. (2006). Solving the puzzle of deliberate self-harm: The experiential avoidance model. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(3), 371–394.
3. Emotional Cascade Model - Selby, E. A., & Joiner, T. E. (2009). Cascades of emotion: The emergence of borderline personality disorder from emotional and behavioral dysregulation. Review of General Psychology, 13(3), 219–229.
4. Integrated Model - Nock, M. K. (2010). Self-injury. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 6(1), 339–363.
5. Cognitive-Emotional Model - Hasking, P., Whitlock, J., Voon, D., & Rose, A. (2017). A cognitive-emotional model of NSSI: Using emotion regulation and cognitive processes to explain why people self-injure. Cognition and Emotion, 31(8), 1543–1556.
6. Barriers and Benefits Model - Hooley, J. M., & Franklin, J. C. (2018). Why do people hurt themselves? A new conceptual model of nonsuicidal self-injury. Clinical Psychological Science, 6(3), 428–451.

Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:

1. Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.
2. Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at [email protected]
3. Want to be involved in research? Send us a message at [email protected] and we will see if we can match you to an active study.
4. Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot  and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."

Just how prevalent is self-injury among older adults, specifically those ages 60 and over?  Do the types and methods they use differ from those who self-injure at other ages? What about the reasons they give for self-injuring? In this episode, Dr. Lisa Van Hove from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels University) is the first to reveal the prevalence of self-injury and self-harm among older adults.

To read Dr. Van Hove's info brief on NSSI in older adults through the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery Resources (SIRR), visit https://www.selfinjury.bctr.cornell.edu/perch/resources/older-adult-fact-sheet-1.pdf. To see Dr. Van Hove's publications, including those about self-injury among older adults, click here. Connect with Dr. Van Hove on LinkedIn here. Below is some of her research and that of others referenced in this episode:

1. Van Hove, L., Baetens, I., Hamza, C., Dierckx, E., Haekens, A., Fieremans, L., & Vanderstichelen, S. (2023). NSSI in older adults. In E.E. Lloyd-Richardson, I. Baetens, & J. Whitlock (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of nonsuicidal self-injury (pp. 572-592). Oxford University Press.
2. Van Hove, L., Baetens, I., & Vanderstichelen, S. (2025). Psychogeriatric experts’ experiences with risk factors of suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury in older adults: A qualitative study. Qualitative Research in Medicine and Healthcare, 8(1).
3. Van Hove, L., Baetens, I., & Vanderstichelen, S. (2024). Conceptualizing self-harm through the experiences of psychogeriatric experts. Psychopathology, 57(4), 277-285.
4. Van Hove, L., Nieuwenhuijs, B. M., Vanderstichelen, S., De Witte, N., Gorus, E., Stas, L., & Baetens, I. (2025). Biopsychosocial profile of community-dwelling older adults at risk for direct and indirect self-harm. Clinical Gerontologist, 1–12.
5. Van Hove, L., Facon M., Baetens, I., Vanderstichelen, S., Dierckx, E., Van Alphen, S.P.J., Stas, L., & Rossi, G. (2025). Development of an at-risk personality profile for (in)direct self-harm engagement in older age. Journal of Personality Disorders, 39(3), 240-262.
6. Murphy, E., Kapur, N., Webb, R., Purandare, N., Hawton, K., Bergen, H., Waters, K., & Cooper, J. (2012). Risk factors for repetition and suicide following self-harm in older adults: multicentre cohort study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 200(5), 399-404.
7. Martin, G., & Swannell, S. (2016). Non-suicidal self-injury in the over 40s: Results from a large national epidemiological survey. Epidemiology (Sunnyvale), 6(5), 266.
8. Choi, N. G., DiNitto, D. M., Marti, C. N., & Choi, B. Y. (2016). Nonsuicidal self-injury and suicide attempts among ED patients older than 50 years: comparison of risk factors and ED visit outcomes. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 34(6), 1016-1021.
9. Ose, S. O., Tveit, T., & Mehlum, L. (2021). Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adult psychiatric outpatients – A nationwide study. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 133, 1-9.
10. Wiktorsson, S., Strömsten, L., Renberg, E. S., Runeson, B., & Waern, M. (2022). Clinical characteristics in older, middle-aged and young adults who present with suicide attempts at psychiatric emergency departments: A multisite study. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30(3), 342-351.
11. Gratz, K. L., & Tull, M. T. (2025). Acceptance-based emotion regulation therapy: A clinician’s guide to treating emotion dysregulation & self-destructive behaviors using an evidence-based therapy drawn from ACT & DBT. Context Press.

Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:

1. Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.
2. Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at [email protected]
3. Want to be involved in research? Send us a message at [email protected] and we will see if we can match you to an active study.
4. Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot  and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."

In this episode, Dr. Moye Xin from Xi'an University in the Shaanxi Province of central China discusses how nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is viewed in Asia and shares his thoughts about how gender role conflict may affect rates of self-harm among university students, particularly young Chinese men. Connect with Dr. Xin on ResearchGate at www.researchgate.net/profile/Moye-Xin or visit his work on SciProfiles at sciprofiles.com/profile/1469611. 

Below are a few of his research studies referenced in this episode:

1. Xin, M., Petrovic, J., Yang, C., Zhang L., & Yang, X. (2024). Nonsuicidal self-injury among Chinese university students during the post-COVID-19 era: analysis of sex differences and the impact of gender role conflict. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1362762.
2. Xin, M., Zhang, L., Yang, C., Yang, X., and Xiang, M. (2022). Risky or protective? Online social support's impact on nssi amongst Chinese youth experiencing stressful life events. BMC Psychiatry, 22, 782.
3. Yang, X., & Xin, M. (2018). "Boy crisis" or "girl risk"? The gender difference in nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior among middle-school students in China and its relationship to gender role conflict and violent experiences. American Journal of Men's Health, 12(5), 1275–1285.

Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:

1. Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.
2. Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at [email protected]
3. Want to be involved in research? Send us a message at [email protected] and we will see if we can match you to an active study.
4. Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot  and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."

In this episode, Ben Moroski from Los Angeles, CA, shares his story of lived experience of self-injury that began at age 17 when he and his family found themselves in a religious cult. He articulately communicates therapeutic gems he has learned throughout his journey of recovery while remaining honest with how he manages persisting urges to self-harm. Watch his autobiographical solo one man play about his struggle with self-injury at https://vimeo.com/107909913, and follow him on Instagram @bmoroski.

Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:

1. Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.
2. Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at [email protected]
3. Want to be involved in research? Send us a message at [email protected] and we will see if we can match you to an active study.
4. Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot  and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."

In this episode, Dr. Sylvanna Mirichlis from Curtin University in Perth, Australia, and ISSS Past President Dr. Stephen Lewis from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada share about the origins of the annual March 1st Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD), what people around the world are doing as part of this day, and what our ISSS Stigma, Recovery, and Lived Experience Special Interest Group is doing to boost awareness of self-injury. We also share some of our favorite clips from past episodes. 

Self-Injury Resources:

1. International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS) (https://itriples.org/
2. Self-injury Outreach & Support (SiOS) (http://sioutreach.org/)
3. Cornell's Self-Injury & Recovery Resources (SIRR) (www.selfinjury.bctr.cornell.edu)
4. Shedding Light on Self-Injury (https://www.self-injury.org.au/)
5. Lewis, S. P., & Hasking, P. A. (2023). Understanding self-injury: A person-centered approach. Oxford University Press.
6. To watch Dr. Lewis' TEDx talk about his own lived experience of self-injury on YouTube, visit https://youtu.be/G17iMOw0ar8.

Timestamps for clips from past episodes:

• 37:37 - Lived experience: Kirsty's story of self-injury & advocacy (Season 2, Episode 30)
• 43:41 - Psychologists with lived experience of self-injury, with Dr. Sarah Victor (Season 1, Episode 9)
• 45:25 - Self-injury stigma and language, with Dr. Penelope Hasking (Season 1, Episode 4)
• 48:26 - Lived experience: Thomas' story of self-injury & gender dysphoria (Season 4, Episode 48)
• 52:48 - Self-harm across cultures, with Dr. Marc Wilson (Season 2, Episode 24)
• 56:39 - The psychology of self-injury scarring, with Dr. Taylor Burke (Season 2, Episode 31)
• 1:01:52 - A dad & daughter discuss her lived experience of self-harm (Season 3, Episode 37)
• 1:15:15 - Parenting youth who self-injure, with Dr. Janis Whitlock (Season 1, Episode 3)
• 1:23:49 - Supporting siblings of individuals who self-harm, with Dr. Amy Lucas (Season 4, Episode 46)

Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:

1. Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.
2. Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at [email protected]
3. Want to be involved in research? Send us a message at [email protected] and we will see if we can match you to an active study.
4. Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot  and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."