BTDT. Two things mentioned that I think are a waste are consulting with a pediatrician and going to the ER. You have a psychiatrist. The pediatrician isn’t going to know more about resources than the psychiatric community. And the ER will evaluate for suicidal behavior which presumably your psychiatrist already does and has deemed inpatient unnecessary.

Like a PP I didn’t find anything that worked. Self harm was only one of the issues (we were also dealing with violence and suicide attempts and some other stuff). We tried outpatient psych from several different providers, therapy from a couple of different providers, inpatient (I think >10 times some of which were involuntary) at four different hospitals - some transferred my kid, IOP, something else that was twice a week several hours a day outpatient, a couple of rounds of residential treatment and probably more than I can remember. Self harm stopped when they were ready to stop not in response to treatment.

FWIW, the best medication management we got was from a PNP. That has been the most effective treatment though some other things were necessary to ensure survival. Maybe because by that point my kid was more receptive.

Good luck OP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are they already in treatment for anxiety or depression? If so, their therapist or psychiatrist can evaluate if a higher level of care is needed.

yes they are seeing a psychiatrist and on medication for anxiety and depression.

You should make an urgent appointment to discuss with them. They know better than we do.

I agree with this - maybe a med change is needed.

My 19yo has anxiety and depression, and has been on a combo of lexapro and wellbutrin for 2y. It's the lexapro that seems to work for the self harm. Her self harm seems to arise from the anxiety.

She did some CBT/general therapy before meds and continued that for awhile. Eventually, moved to a sports psychologist as she felt she needed specialized therapy at that point.

I used to cut when I was younger. Not sure why I stopped, but my parents didn’t do anything or take me to a therapist. I did have depression and anxiety then and still have anxiety.

I don't mean to dismiss you because I know we parents want our children not to do this. However, in my kid's case, it was temporary and went away on its own. The therapy did not help. I think it was a bit of early adolescent mixed up-edness. Doing much better in college now. I will say the 504 plan in school seemed to help more than anything. With a GAD diagnosis, the 504 provided extra time and a quiet place to test. Both of those helped a lot. I hope your DC feels better soon.

See a root cause psychiatrist

DBT therapy is specifically designed for this. There are full DBT programs and “DBT informed” therapy. We did a full program and it was extremely helpful.

https://www.sheppardpratt.org/news-views/story/how-dialectical-behavior-therapy-treats-self-harm/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are they already in treatment for anxiety or depression? If so, their therapist or psychiatrist can evaluate if a higher level of care is needed.

yes they are seeing a psychiatrist and on medication for anxiety and depression.

You should make an urgent appointment to discuss with them. They know better than we do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take them to the ER.

sorry if this is a dumb question. But what would they do in the ER?

They would assess suicide risk. If there is a high risk, then they would hospitalize. But most likely, they would just send you home since your child is already under psychiatric care.

Anonymous wrote:Please help, what type of therapy helped your teen overcome self harming? Are there specific centers or resources that can help with this? Thank you.

What type of self-harm? If it is cutting, more of a surface level (classified as non-suicidal self-harming), then I would start by talking with your pediatrician to find resources for therapy. We used cognitive behavioral therapy, and my daughter worked on replacement behaviors for the cutting. If it is more severe cutting or self-harming, and you are trying to determine if he/she is suicidal, then you should go to the emergency room.

Anonymous wrote:Take them to the ER.

sorry if this is a dumb question. But what would they do in the ER?

Anonymous wrote:Are they already in treatment for anxiety or depression? If so, their therapist or psychiatrist can evaluate if a higher level of care is needed.

yes they are seeing a psychiatrist and on medication for anxiety and depression.

Are they already in treatment for anxiety or depression? If so, their therapist or psychiatrist can evaluate if a higher level of care is needed.

Take them to the ER.

Please help, what type of therapy helped your teen overcome self harming? Are there specific centers or resources that can help with this? Thank you.