The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health

By: Nicholas J. Westers Psy.D. ABPP
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  • Summary

  • Why do people self-injure? And what is the best way to respond when someone tells us they self-injure? Dr. Nicholas Westers, a clinical psychologist at Children's Health and Associate Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, collaborates with the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS) to interview the leading experts in the field of self-injury and self-harm as well as individuals with lived experience of self-injury and parents and family members of those who have self-injured. This podcast is meant to be a resource for parents, professionals, and people with lived experience.
    2021 The Psychology of Self-Injury
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Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Relationships Science Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • Self-Injury Among Ethnically Diverse Populations, with Dr. Maryam Gholamrezaei

    Self-Injury Among Ethnically Diverse Populations, with Dr. Maryam Gholamrezaei
    Oct 25 2024
    In this episode, Maryam Gholamrezaei, PhD, C.Psych, shares about her interviews with racially and ethnically diverse individuals who self-injure, including their responses to her question, “In your culture, what is the general response to people who engage in self-harming behaviors?” She also discusses gender differences in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among different ethnic groups and offers unique insights into how the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East may influence an individual's decision to self-harm.Learn more about Dr. Gholamrezaei on her website at https://drmaryamgholamrezaei.ca/. Below are some publications written by Dr. Gholamrezaei as well as Dr. Westers' editorial:Gholamrezaei, M., Heath, N. L., Pereira, L., De Stefano, J., & Böke, B. N. (2023). Nonsuicidal self-injury, mental health service use, and cultural perspectives among ethnically diverse university students. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 42(1), 15-40.Gholamrezaei, M., De Stefano, J., & Heath, N. L. (2017). Nonsuicidal self-injury across cultures and ethnic and racial minorities: A review. International Journal of Psychology, 52(4), 316–326.Gholamrezaei, M., Heath, N., & Panaghi, L. (2016). Non-suicidal self-injury in a sample of university students in Tehran, Iran: prevalence, characteristics and risk factors. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 10(2), 136–149.Westers, N. J. (2024). Cultural interpretations of nonsuicidal self-injury and suicide: Insights from around the world. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29(4), 1231-1235.Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at thepsychologyofselfinjury@gmail.comWant to be involved in research? Send us a message at thepsychologyofselfinjury@gmail.com and we will see if we can match you to an active study.Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal." Goodpods Top 100 Parents Podcasts Listen now to The Psychology of Self-Injury: ExploringSelf-Harm & Mental Health podcast Goodpods Top 100 Research Podcasts Listen now to The Psychology of Self-Injury: ExploringSelf-Harm & Mental Health podcast
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    52 mins
  • Effects of Emotions on Self-Injury Pain Perception, with Michelle Hiner

    Effects of Emotions on Self-Injury Pain Perception, with Michelle Hiner
    Sep 27 2024
    Does the emotion someone experiences immediately preceding an episode of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) influence how painful that episode of self-harm feels? In this episode, Michelle Hiner, MS, a Clinical Psychology PhD student in the Emotion and Psychopathology (EmP) Lab at Rutgers University in New Jersey talks about how individuals who self-harm after experiencing high arousal negative emotions (HANEs), like anger, experience pain differently than those who self-injure after experiencing low arousal negative emotions (LANEs), like sadness and dissociation. Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn here, and learn more about the Emotion and Psychopathology (EmP) Lab here. Below are some papers referenced in this episode:Drummond, P. D. (1995). Noradrenaline increases hyperalgesia to heat in skin sensitized by capsaicin. Pain, 60(3), 311-315.Wiercioch-Kuzianik, K., & Bąbel, P. (2019). Color hurts. The effect of color on pain perception. Pain Medicine, 20(10), 1955-1962.Paul, E., Tsypes, A., Eidlitz, L., Ernhout, C., & Whitlock, J. (2015). Frequency and functions of non-suicidal self-injury: Associations with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Psychiatry Research, 225(3), 276–282.Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at thepsychologyofselfinjury@gmail.comWant to be involved in research? Send us a message at thepsychologyofselfinjury@gmail.com and we will see if we can match you to an active study.Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal." Goodpods Top 100 Parents Podcasts Listen now to The Psychology of Self-Injury: ExploringSelf-Harm & Mental Health podcast Goodpods Top 100 Research Podcasts Listen now to The Psychology of Self-Injury: ExploringSelf-Harm & Mental Health podcast
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    47 mins
  • Emotion Regulation Individual Therapy for Adolescents (ERITA) Who Self-Harm, with Dr. Johan Bjureberg

    Emotion Regulation Individual Therapy for Adolescents (ERITA) Who Self-Harm, with Dr. Johan Bjureberg
    Aug 30 2024
    Emotion Regulation Individual Therapy for Adolescents (ERITA) and its internet-delivered version (IERITA) is just one of a couple of treatments developed specifically to address nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents. In this episode, Dr. Johan Bjureberg from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden walks us through in detail each of the 11 sessions of IERITA and IERITA's 6 parallel sessions for parents.Learn more about Dr. Bjureberg's work here, and follow the Bjureberg Research Lab and their projects and publications at https://bjureberglab.se/. Below are links to his research on ERITA/IERITA referenced in this episode:Bjureberg, J., Ojala, O., Hesser, H., Häbel, H., Sahlin, H., Gratz, K. L., Tull, M. T., Knutsson, E. C., Hedman-Lagerlöf, E., Ljótsson, B., & Hellner, C. (2023). Effect of internet-delivered Emotion Regulation Individual Therapy for Adolescents with Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Disorder: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 6(7), e2322069.Bjureberg, J., Sahlin, H., Hedman-Lagerlof, E., Gratz, K. L., Tull, M. T., Jokinen, J., Hellner, C., & Ljotsson, B. (2018). Extending research on emotion regulation individual therapy for adolescents (ERITA) with nonsuicidal self-injury disorder: Open pilot trial and mediation analysis of a novel online version. BMC Psychiatry, 18, 326.Bjureberg, J., Sahlin, H., Hellner, C., Hedman-Lagerlof, E., Gratz, K. L., Bjarehed, J., Jokinen, J., Tull, M. T., & Ljotsson, B. (2017). Emotion regulation individual therapy for adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury disorder: A feasibility study. BMC Psychiatry, 17, 411.Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at thepsychologyofselfinjury@gmail.comWant to be involved in research? Send us a message at thepsychologyofselfinjury@gmail.com and we will see if we can match you to an active study.Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal." Goodpods Top 100 Parents Podcasts Listen now to The Psychology of Self-Injury: ExploringSelf-Harm & Mental Health podcast Goodpods Top 100 Research Podcasts Listen now to The Psychology of Self-Injury: ExploringSelf-Harm & Mental Health podcast
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    1 hr and 14 mins

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Amazing

I am a professional and work in residential treatment. I was new to handling incidents on self harm from our clients & I wanted to seek understanding on this topic. This podcast is amazing & I have learned a lot to which I take with me into my practice.

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