Understanding and Working with People with Learning Disabilities who Self-injure

Pauline Heslop, Andrew Lovell

• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781849052085
• eBook ISBN: 9780857004437
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Abnormal Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Adopting a predominantly psychological approach, this book provides carers with up-to-date information and resources to provide appropriately individualised care to people with learning disabilities who self-injure.

Understanding and Working with People with Learning Disabilities who Self-Injure synthesises traditional (behavioural) and newer (psychological) approaches to understanding self-injury, drawing on psychoanalytic and social theory to provide practical guidelines for more sustained and effective support. It suggests that motivations for self-injury may be similar for people with and without learning disabilities, and draws on case work examples to suggest person-centred techniques that encourage communication – particularly important with people who do not use verbal communication - and recovery. The book covers a range of specific needs, including people with autism who self-injure, and emphasises the views of people with learning disabilities themselves and their families about what has worked best, and why. At the end of each chapter, a variety of practical implications for the provision of support are given.

This book is for those supporting people with learning disabilities who self-injure and will be a useful resource for social workers, psychologists, counsellors, learning support workers, nurses and social and health care students.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1:  Introduction
• Part 1:  Different Approaches to Understanding Self-injury
• Chapter 2:  Dimensions of Self-injury
• Chapter 3:  Social Approaches to Understanding Self-injury
• Chapter 4:  Psychoanalytic Approaches to Understanding Self-injury
• Chapter 5:  The Voice of Experience: People with Learning Disabilities and Their Families Talking About How They Understand Self-injury
• Part 2:  Different Approaches to Working with People Who Self-injure
• Chapter 6:  Minimising Harm
• Chapter 7:  What People with Learning Disabilities Say Helps Them
• Chapter 8:  Family Voices
• Chapter 9:  Psychoanalytical Approaches in Practice 1
• Chapter 10:  Psychoanalytical Approaches in Practice 2
• Chapter 11:  Self-injury and Loss of Sense of Self
• Chapter 12:  A Relational Approach to Understanding Our Responses to Self-injury
• Chapter 13:  Concluding Comments: Towards an Integrated Approach to Self-injury and Summary of Implications for Practice
• References
• Contributors
• Figure 2.1  The spectrum from self-harm to self-injury and the possible positioning of different types of behaviours
• Table 5.1  Research identifying the personal perspectives of people with learning disabilities who self-injure