Surviving Self Harm: Personal Journeys from Pathogenesis to Recovery

by Mark Weinberg

The last decade has witnessed a marked increase in the incidence of self harm. Along with this proliferation has come increased public and clinical interest in understanding and treating these seemingly counterintuitive behaviors. This book focuses on the personal experiences of survivors in order to gain insight into the experience of transition towards, living with, and recovery from self harm. The author utilized the Grounded Theory method to develop a theoretical model describing a process (a) exclusive and/or intrusive experiences play a central role in precipitating pathogenesis of deliberate self-harm, (b) a sense of loss of control results from these exclusive/intrusive experiences, (c) self-harming behaviours occur in an attempt to manage this sense of loss of control, and (d) continued exclusionary/intrusive experiences act to maintain self-harming behaviours. Recovery occurs in the context of an environmental shift, leading to the experience of social inclusion, which facilitates a sense of control.

84 pages, Paperback

Published May 7, 2009