Support for parents who are left 'bewildered and afraid' by children's self-harm

http://goo.gl/7M6pnB

Mums and dads who may be overwhelmed by their children's self-harming can now find support in the experiences of other parents, through a new resource on the website healthtalk.org.

The information on the site is based on detailed interviews with 39 parents carried out by researchers from the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry. The parents shared their stories from finding out that their child self-harmed to getting help, coping as a family and supporting their child to recovery.

Dr. Anne Stewart, a Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist at Oxford University and a member of the advisory panel for this new healthtalk.org resource, said: "Parents who discover their child is self-harming often feel bewildered, angry and very afraid for the future. They can feel quite guilty or ashamed. This may make it difficult to talk about with friends or with other family members. We've created this resource to help parents to realise that they're not alone in what they're dealing with and provide in-depth information and advice from other parents who've been there too."