Treatment For Self-Injury At Bedrock Recovery Center

Knowing how to handle difficult emotions and life experiences in healthy ways is not necessarily something we are born knowing how to do, but it can be taught. If you are cutting, burning, or otherwise self-injuring yourself, you have likely experienced how the relief it provides is temporary, often quickly replaced with feelings of shame and guilt and a return of the painful emotions.

The compassionate team of mental health experts at Bedrock Recovery Center can help you get to the root of your urge to self-injure and address the unprocessed trauma or difficult emotions found there. Our short-term residential program offers a multidisciplinary approach, with evidence-based treatment alongside holistic, wellness-based options for lasting recovery.

Self-Harm Treatment At Bedrock Recovery Center

Located in Canton, MA, just outside of Boston, Bedrock Recovery Center is a leading mental health treatment provider. We provide a client-centered approach, meaning that your personal goals during recovery, along with your unique treatment needs, are considered every step of the way.

Your care team consists of an onsite psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse practitioners, master’s-level mental health counselors, and highly qualified support staff, offering 24/7 access to care and support during your stay with us.

Our multidisciplinary approach provides stabilization during a crisis, medication management, one-on-one psychotherapy, group therapy, and other evidence-based mental health care.

Left untreated, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) can cause severe injuries, infections, or even accidental death, and may lead to suicide attempts in the future.

Psychotherapy

BRC offers several forms of talk therapy that are proven effective in treating NSSI.

These include:

• cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), for revealing problematic thoughts or beliefs and behaviors and counteracting them
• dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a narrower form of CBT focused on developing problem-solving skills
• family therapy, which brings together family members to help resolve interpersonal issues and open up lines of communication, trust, and emotional support

Among its many benefits, therapy can help you learn healthy coping skills to manage distress.

Medication Management

While no medications are specifically FDA-approved to treat NSSI, antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications are often prescribed by healthcare providers to treat underlying mental health disorders.

If you come to Bedrock already taking medication for your mental health, your care team will monitor you and provide assessments to make sure that the desired outcomes are being achieved. If not, your care team may change your prescription, such as by adjusting the dosage or replacing the medication with a more effective one.

Learn More About Self-Harm/ Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)

Sometimes a person, and young people in particular, harm themselves through cutting, burning, punching, kicking, or biting themselves to produce momentary relief from negative emotions and mental stress.

While most people only self-harm once or twice, for some this activity can become an extremely harmful long-term coping mechanism that only deepens their emotional pain and distress.

While experts are divided over whether or not nonsuicidal self-injury should be its own separate mental illness, patterns of self-injury are a telling symptom of emotional distress and may also be associated with diagnosable mental health disorders.

Diagnosis

Mental health professionals diagnose mental disorders using the DSM-5, a manual that currently lists NSSI as a condition in need of further study.

NSSI is defined as the deliberate, self-inflicted destruction of body tissue without suicidal intent and for purposes not socially sanctioned, and includes behaviors such as cutting, burning, biting, and scratching the skin.

NSSI also has strong ties to:

• borderline personality disorder (BPD), a mental illness impacting the ability to regulate emotions or impulses, sometimes leading to suicidal behavior, threats, and self-mutilating behavior
• bipolar disorder, a condition characterized by mood swings that shift from depressive to manic episodes
• anxiety disorders
• major depression
• eating disorders
• substance abuse and substance use disorders

Treatment of NSSI will involve both a physical examination and psychiatric evaluation to better understand any physical, mental, or emotional conditions that may be influencing this behavior.

Signs Of Self-Harm

While self-harm likely occurs secretively, behind closed doors, there are some signs you can look for if you are concerned about a loved one.

Common signs of self-harm include:

• unexplained cuts, bruises, burns, infections, or scarring
• only wearing long sleeves, even in hot weather
• refusing to change clothes in front of others
• hair loss
• over- or under-eating
• excessive exercise

Risk Factors

Many risk factors for self-injury have been identified by mental health professionals and researchers.

These include:

• being an adolescent or young adult
• having friends who self-injure
• experiencing childhood trauma (e.g., poverty, neglect, or sexual, emotional, or physical abuse)
• sexual minority status
• bullying
• low self-worth
• experiencing other mental illness (particularly borderline personality disorder and eating disorders)
• substance abuse

Statistics

It’s unclear what percentage of people self-harm, as researchers have reported dramatically different results when studying different populations.

Estimates run as high as 13% to 35% or as low as 2% to 6% of the general population.

Learn More About How We Can Help

Take the first step to improved mental health for yourself or your loved one by calling Bedrock Recovery Center today to learn more about our treatment program.