See:

http://www.adolescentselfinjuryfoundation.com

Recommend reading the Do and Don't for Parents...it was helpful to me.

Cutting often occurs in anorexic teens. Parents take control of the eating and the teen looks for the next higher level degree of control, i.e., cutting. It gets worse.

I just tried it out at that age too. I don't know why I did it, but I do have a history of depression that came about later on. I think it's good that you are taking her to a therapist. Having someone to talk to who won't judge her is a good idea.

I'm one who mentioned talking to her therapist, perhaps with her in the room. Cutters are notorious for hiding things and she might never bring it up.

She was already outed to the pediatrician (who should be shot for his/her idiotic advice), so she knows that other adults know.

Therapy should be goal oriented; now just sit on the couch and talk for years on end.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think kids did this when I was that age. How has this become a trend?

How old are you?

Early 40s

It was happening, but it wasn't nearly as socially acceptable as it is now. Emo bands write songs about it, there's groups like To Write Love On Her Arms, and there's the internet. Everything is more prevalent with the internet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think kids did this when I was that age. How has this become a trend?

How old are you?

Early 40s

I'm 40, and when I was about 12, I cut myself a few times. I'm not sure why I did it, but I only did it a few times and stopped. You are right to be concerned, but don't freak out about it yet, she could just be experimenting.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think kids did this when I was that age. How has this become a trend?

How old are you?

OP its very important to both get help, as you are, and to not react strongly. You don;t want to add a sense of shame to what your DD is already dealing with. However, you are absolutely correct to get a therapist. I've been told that people who continue to cut into adulthood never got therapy. Therapy can be very effective. You might look into DBT therapy, it was an enormous help to my DD.

Pediatrician sounds like an idiot.

Anonymous wrote:As a former cutter/disorded eating/depression issues teenager, I actually think it is a good idea to let OP's kid tell her therapist about the cutting first. My parents thought it was best to discuss my issues with the therapist before I did and I knew they folllowed up on my sessions after. I hated how my therapist would say "so your mom told me that last week she saw some bloody tissues in the trash can. Let's talk about that". It made it VERY difficult to open up to the therapist because I didn't feel like anything was done on my terms. I hated it. The therapist did absolutely nothing to help with my issues. I ended up finding my own support groups online and credit them with helping me figure out where my issues stemmed from and how to get better.

I second this, please don't get involved with the relationship between your daughter and HER therapist. My mother did this and I never trusted the therapist and it was more harmful then if I hadn't been seeing one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pediatrician told me to tell her to think happy thoughts.

Is this a joke?

Nope.

my DS had emotional difficulties and the hardest part of the problem was finding competent medical help. Some DRs will prescribe pills at first meeting, others will be superficial, they do not want the burden, others will be extremely expensive. The medical system for mental health is broken. YOU will have to find the help somehow.

And the toughest part about mental issues is that the harder you squeeze the worse the problem becomes.

it will be hard but reach out to other moms and dads in your group. not your child's friends but moms and dads of older kids in the area, they will know the best help to use.

think seriously about taking your DD out of the environment. do not give up.

the 2 langley and 6 woodson sucicides are public, but there are many many more that have NOT been successful but have happened.

I don't think kids did this when I was that age. How has this become a trend?

Where does this stem from?

I've heard that cutting has become extremely common amongst kids in some middle schools

As a former cutter/disorded eating/depression issues teenager, I actually think it is a good idea to let OP's kid tell her therapist about the cutting first. My parents thought it was best to discuss my issues with the therapist before I did and I knew they folllowed up on my sessions after. I hated how my therapist would say "so your mom told me that last week she saw some bloody tissues in the trash can. Let's talk about that". It made it VERY difficult to open up to the therapist because I didn't feel like anything was done on my terms. I hated it. The therapist did absolutely nothing to help with my issues. I ended up finding my own support groups online and credit them with helping me figure out where my issues stemmed from and how to get better.