Meet Asher - a teenager who self-harms to manage their feelings when it all feels like too much.

The latest in the best-selling Can I Tell You About... series describes what self-harm is, along with the wide range of behaviours that qualify, why teens do it, and how to get help if you feel the need to self-harm. Reflecting on the different aspects of self-harming behaviour, including treatment of injuries and scars, this concise introduction dispels common myths and offers helpful resources to break the cycle of self-harm. By initiating the conversation around self-harm, this guide will offer alternative avenues for children and young adults to pursue when dealing with big feelings, such as professional counselling, distraction, and friends and family.

This easy-to-read guide is suitable for readers 7+, along with their parents, teachers, and friends. All author royalties from the book will go towards the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust.

There are 72 pages in this book. This book was published 2018 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers .

Pooky Knightsmith is Director of the Children, Young People and Schools Programme at the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust and Vice Chair of Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition.

This book has the following chapters:

Acknowledgements. Foreword by Jonathan Singer. 1. Introducing Asher who struggles with self-harm. 2. What is self-harm? 3. Who self-harms? 4. Attention seeking? 5. What's the link between self-harm and social media? 6. It can feel very lonely. 7. Why do people self-harm? 8. Self-harm and suicide. 9. Caring for injuries. 10. Why is it hard to stop self-harming? 11. Who can help? 12. What treatment is available? 13. How can you break the cycle?
14. Healthier alternatives to self-harm? 15. How can you distract yourself? 16. Injuries and scars? 17. How friends can help. 18. How family members can help. 19. How professionals can help. 20. What next? 21. Talking to younger children about self-harm? 22. Final thoughts from Pooky.