Treatment for SI

Treatment for SI varies depending on whether you have been diagnosed with a mental illness such as depression, bipolar disorder, multiple personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, etc. It may involve the use of drugs, according to the Self-Mutilation site:

Opiate antagonists have shown to be particularly effective on this particular type [repetitive] of self-mutilation, and especially effective when used to supplement behavioral interventions. Treatment with Naltraxone has been found to produce a positive response in 50% of patients treated, with an average 30%-50% reduction in self-mutilative behavior.

Generally treatment for SIers depends on medication for underlying mental disorders, combined with therapy and the teaching of new methods of coping, aside from SI.

Psychiatric or psychological help is often provided to find out why a person self-injures (if they do not already know), to resolve internal conflicts over past abuse, poor self-image, and disassociation. Sometimes psychiatrists draw up "contracts" with their patients in an attempt to get them to stop self-injuring. Alternatively, some psychiatrists do not treat SI as such. For instance, I SI as a result of depression, and only when in a depressive state, so I am being treated for depression and not for the SI itself, I was simply told not to worry about it.

Many SIers try to help themselves, by sharing experiences and methods of coping with others (for example, at the Self-Injury: A Struggle message board). Alternatives to SI (such as snapping a rubber band around the wrist or holding ice-cubes) are often suggested, as are self-help books. The internet has proven to be an incredibly valuable tool for helping those with a socially stigmatised disorder - many SIers are not "out" about their problem, and getting support from others on the net, as well as venting emotions through diaries (see mine) and websites online may be helpful, especially if the root of their problem lies in an inability to express emotion in a "normal" manner, without harming themselves. Many SIers find help in creative work (poetry, art, fiction) and in distracting themselves from the urge to harm.

There are some programs set up specifically to help SIers, for example S.A.F.E. (Self-Abuse Finally Ends) offers inpatient treatment for those for whom outpatient help is not working and who are willing to sign a no-harm contract, in order to teach better methods of coping. Some doctors specialise in SI (my own is researching the problem) and SIers may be referred to them for specialist help.

Each individual's experience of treatment is likely to be difficult, as SI is generally a symptom of an underlying disorder, which is not the same in all cases, and of course, not all people with that disorder self-harm.