Self-harm in women's secure services: Reflections and strategies for treatment design

Abstract

This chapter will provide some background to the development of specialist services for women in secure healthcare. It will consider what we mean by "enhanced" medium secure care, and present the overarching "treatment stage" model that the author and her colleagues are in the early stages of applying in their service. It will present considerations as to specific treatment needs, multiprofessional working and integrating approaches as well as discuss responsivity factors such as engagement, the importance of therapeutic relationships and the process of change, especially in relation to self-injury. Self-injury is a common problem for women in this service and was in the minds of the author and her colleagues when they designed it. While not focusing on it exclusively, the treatment program is intended to address the underlying difficulties that give rise to self-harming behavior and feelings. A client has contributed two sections to this chapter, giving her perspective on the development of services for women and her own insights into self-injury within such services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)(chapter)