Last week’s talk was a pretty serious one. We discussed cutting, self-mutilation and self-harm and many things that go along with that. The focus of the talk on how we, as youth workers, can help teenagers overcome the self-harm.

This is one of those subjects that you want to be proactive in learning about before it comes up in your youth group. Once that kid who’s struggling talks with it about you, there’s no time to put the conversation on hold, study for a couple days, and then come back to continue the discussion. Start educating yourself now.

Chris Schaffner, who joined us in this call, pointed us to his blog post, “Self-injury Quick Reference,” which will serve as a good starting place for youth workers learning about cutting and self-injury.

Panelists in this disussion

• Tim Schmoyer [host]
• Chris Schaffner
• Brent Lacy
• Tom Roepke

Some items we discussed

• Common myths behind self-harm
• Demographics and statistics of those who self-harm
• How to identify students who self-harm
• Is cutting something to be concerned about?
• Steps to helping a student overcome self-harm

Resources that were mentioned

• A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain [book]
• Hope and Healing for Kids Who Cut: Learning to Understand and Help Those Who Self-Injure [book]
• To write love on her arms [website]
• Life Hurts, God Heals [youth group curriculum]

You can listen to the discussion below or grab it in iTunes.

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Posted on October 2, 2010