A charity has opened three support services across the country in response to the growing rates of self-harm.
Penumbra Mental Health has established centres in Glasgow, Dundee and the Highlands and Islands after seeing a 22 per cent increase in those seeking its support in the past year. In 2021, the charity helped 418 people with self-harm but is now supporting 643 people across its existing six services.
Fiona Gray, who is senior practitioner for the Self-Harm Glasgow Network, has lived experience of self-harm and was herself previously supported by a professional.
The 57-year-old said: “My negative experiences are now utilised in a positive way. I share my experiences with others, show empathy, offer hope and support others to achieve their own goals for the future.
“Our service is now open for self-referral, which means anyone in Glasgow who is over the age of 16 can access our service for support with their self-harm. We want to support as many people as possible and we’re really passionate about offering confidential, compassionate, recovery-focused support for people who choose to engage with our service.
“We don’t just focus on self-harm. We work with people to find out what matters in their lives and support each person to find coping strategies that work for them. Many of our team have experience of living with self-harm or managing mental ill health, so they bring an understanding of what someone might be experiencing.”
Support can be in person or by phone, video or text. The Dundee service will support people aged 12-18 referred by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. The Glasgow service will support people referred by Adult Mental Health Care and the A&E liaison psychiatry team.
In the Highlands the service will support people aged 16+ referred by Primary Care Mental Health teams, beginning in the Mid Ross area. From January, an online portal self-harm support service will help to cover all areas in the Highlands and Islands.
The 2019 Scottish Health Survey showed the proportion of adults who say they have self-harmed was seven per cent from 2018-19, compared to three per cent 10 years previously. Data from the Scottish Parliament also showed that the number of children diagnosed with self-harm-related injuries at Scottish hospitals has risen year-on-year since 2015.
It’s believed the reason for the rise in self-harm is driven by people struggling to cope with emotional distress or desperately trying to feel like they are in control. The charity deals with common causes of this such as being bullied, pressure at work and anxiety.
Some being helped are experiencing complex mental health difficulties often due to past trauma. Penumbra’s Self-Harm Network Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government, which has committed to developing a self-harm strategy and action plan for Scotland in 2023.
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