Self-harm: how art therapy can help
Article
InSight – Spring 2024
Self-harm is complex and often misunderstood. What is self-harm and how can art therapy help?
What is self harm?
Self-harm is used to describe any behaviour that causes harm or injury to your body. Some people may self-injure because they feel emotionally distressed or overwhelmed and it may bring temporary relief.
Sometimes people self-harm with the intention to end their life. While this isn’t always the case, people who self-harm are at a higher risk of ending their lives.
How common is it?
About 10% of young people self-harm, and it could be as high as 20%. However, self harming behaviour can happen at any age and statistics are also likely to underestimate how common self-harm is as many people don’t seek help.
Self-harming behaviour seems to be more common in young people, the LGBTQ+ community, people who have experienced stressful life events such as prisoners, asylum seekers, and people who have been neglected or experienced abuse during childhood.
How can art therapy help?
It’s established practice to provide arts therapies for people who self-harm. Art therapy is a recognised form of psychological therapy.
In art therapy sessions, you are supported to express your thoughts and feelings through art making and talking with a trained art therapist.
Art therapy to help manage emotions
Art therapy aims to help you express and experience emotions in a safe way through making art.
If you are feeling overwhelming emotions, art therapy may help you to take a step back from those strong emotions and increase your sense of control. It can then help you to think and talk about emotions in new ways and help strengthen your ability to manage them.
Art therapy to help share difficult emotions or experiences
Art therapy provides a safe space to express and experience emotions through creative expression. It can sometimes feel safer making art and talking about your artwork than talking directly to another person or in a group about how you feel.
In their film ‘Dark Shadow’ someone who was self-harming talks about the film they made with art therapist, Tony Gammidge. They explain how they often self-harmed because they were not able to express their emotions.
In an article from the International Journal of Art Therapy, a former service user who was previously at ‘risk of self-harm and suicide’ describes how important art therapy was for them to be able to share difficult emotions and experiences:
If art therapy hadn’t been included in that programme I probably wouldn’t have gone so deeply into anything and probably a lot of it I would never have shared with anyone because it would have meant sitting face to face with the therapist, or with the group, and having to find those words to start off. But, because the art opened the door, I could then continue to discuss that in the group work, in my one to ones. It was the first step. To be honest with you it was probably the first ten steps.
Diane Findlay, co-researcher and former service user
Art therapy to help understand yourself and others
Going to an art therapy group can give you the opportunity to learn about how other people feel and learn about their experiences, which might be similar to your own. It may help see your own emotions and experiences in new ways.
One study published in the International Journal of Art Therapy and another published in Arts in Psychotherapy found that people who went to group art therapy said they were less inclined to harm themselves.
If you need support
If you or someone close to you is struggling with self-harm, it is important you seek professional help. There is help, guidance and effective treatment available.