Atypical Severe Self-Injury, with Dr. Barry Walsh

05/07/21 • 56 min

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

When we talk about nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in this podcast, we are typically referring to the most common forms of NSSI. But what about rarer, more significant forms of self-harm and self-harming behaviors that do not fit neatly within the typical definition of NSSI, like ingesting foreign objects to intentionally cause internal injury? And how do these forms of “Atypical Severe Self-Injury” differ in function and severity from more common forms of self-injury? In this episode, Dr. Barry Walsh details 3 specific forms of Atypical, Severe Self-Injury, explains their unique functions, and shares clinical guidelines for treating those who engage in Atypical, Severe Self-Injury.

Learn more about Dr. Walsh and his work at Open Sky Community Services by visiting www.openskycs.org . Below are links to some of his research and publications referenced in this episode:

Walsh, B. W. (2014). Treating self-injury: A practical guide (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.

Walsh, B. W. (2019). Atypical, severe self-injury: How to understand and treat it. In J. J. Washburn (Ed.), Nonsuicidal self-injury: Advances in research and practice . New York: Routledge.

Atypical and severe nonsuicidal self-injury as an indicator of severe psychopathology: Findings from a sample of high-risk community mental health clients (Hom et al., 2018)

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

Learn more about Dr. Walsh and his work at Open Sky Community Services by visiting www.openskycs.org . Below are links to some of his research and publications referenced in this episode:

Walsh, B. W. (2014). Treating self-injury: A practical guide (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.

Walsh, B. W. (2019). Atypical, severe self-injury: How to understand and treat it. In J. J. Washburn (Ed.), Nonsuicidal self-injury: Advances in research and practice . New York: Routledge.

Atypical and severe nonsuicidal self-injury as an indicator of severe psychopathology: Findings from a sample of high-risk community mental health clients (Hom et al., 2018)

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

Previous Episode

Monitoring Self-Injury in Real Time, with Dr. Glenn Kiekens

How do we assess self-injury differently than 20-30 years ago? Rather than asking someone to remember how they were thinking and feeling when they last self-injured days, weeks, and even months ago, advances in technology allow researchers and clinicians to monitor self-injury and self-harm in real time, as it occurs. In this episode, Dr. Glenn Kiekens discusses the advantages of adapting real-time monitoring (also known as experience sampling or ecological momentary assessment [EMA]) in researching nonsuicidal self-injury as well as the ethical concerns to consider when doing research in real time.

Learn more about Dr. Kiekens and his work in the Center for Contextual Psychiatry at KU Leuven by clicking here. Follow Dr. Kiekens on Twitter @GKiekens. Below are links to some of his research and the resources referenced in this episode:

Opening the black box of daily life in non-suicidal self-injury research: With great opportunity comes great responsibility (preprint available at https://psyarxiv.com/yp86x)

Fluctuations in affective states and self-efficacy to resist non-suicidal self-injury as real-time predictors of non-suicidal self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (2020)

Consensus statement on ethical & safety practices for conducting digital monitoring studies with people at risk of suicide and related behaviors (Nock et al., 2020)

Revealing the form and function of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors: A real-time ecological assessment study among adolescents and young adults (Nock, Prinstein, & Sterba, 2009)

Changes in ecological momentary assessment reported affect associated with episodes of nonsuicidal self-Injury (Armey, Crowther, & Miller, 2011)

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

Next Episode

Lived Experience of Self-Injury & Stigma: Lexy's Story

In this episode, Lexy details her experience of engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and the stigma she has encountered as a result of self-injury and self-harm. Lexy is the current Student Representative of the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS) and a PhD candidate working in the area of self-injury stigma. She is currently working on multiple projects looking at how self-injury stigma is experienced and how it is portrayed in the media. She has recently published a paper outlining how researchers can better understand self-injury stigma: Stigma and nonsuicidal self-injury: Application of a conceptual framework (Staniland, Hasking, Boyes, & Lewis, 2021)

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

BIG NEWS! The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated #5 by Feedspot in their "Top 15 Clinical Psychology Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021." Click here to see the full Top 15 list.