Understanding and Helping Adolescents with Nonsuicidal Self-Injurious Behavior

Karyn Horowitz, MD
Director of Outpatient Child Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Services at Brown University Health
Director, Outpatient Services at Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital
Associate Professor (Clinical), Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Jennifer Kittler, PhD
Clinical Psychologist, Bradley Hospital

Nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior (NSSI) is increasingly prevalent among adolescents, yet many clinicians and other professionals who work with adolescents find this behavior challenging to understand, evaluate, and treat.  This training module will provide a definition of NSSI, differentiate it from suicidal behavior, and provide an overview of common functions that this behavior serves among adolescents.  We will further review psychiatric diagnoses and mental health issues that are common among adolescents who engage in NSSI, and provide an overview of effective strategies for intervening with, evaluating, and treating NSSI among adolescents.