HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS British Journal of Psychiatry Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Prasad, V. Articles by Owens, D. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Prasad, V. Articles by Owens, D.

Using the internet as a source of self-help for people who self-harm

Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University of Leeds School of Medicine, 15 Hyde Terrace, Leeds LS2 9LT

AIMS AND METHOD

To describe the information and help available on the internet for people who self-harm. We searched the internet using a meta-search engine. We visited sites and followed up links with e-mails and letters. We also searched bibliographic databases, seeking published material about the internet and self-harm.

RESULTS

The support that we found largely took the form of information about suicide, self-injury and psychological issues. Less often, sites offered e-mail support and online discussions. We found little information about self-poisoning, and most about self-injury. There is little published research about self-harm and the internet.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

The unregulated sites of the internet contain much material about self-injury. Although it is not possible at present to weigh up risks and benefits, many individuals and organisations plainly regard internet information about self-harm as a valuable service.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Fagin Repeated self-injury: perspectives from general psychiatry Advan. Psychiatr. Treat., May 1, 2006; 12(3): 193 - 201. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. HORROCKS, S. PRICE, A. HOUSE, and D. OWENS Self-injury attendances in the accident and emergency department: Clinical database study The British Journal of Psychiatry, July 1, 2003; 183(1): 34 - 39. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]