UNDERSTANDING NON-SUICIDAL SELF-HARM

Workshop Overview

Self-harm, also known as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), is the deliberate act of injuring one’s body, often as a way to cope with intense emotional pain such as sadness, anger, or stress. Self-harm is a sign of underlying emotional distress or an associated mental health condition.

The Understanding Non-Suicidal Self-Harm workshop offers mental health professionals a practical, trauma-informed approach to understanding and treating self-harm.

The workshop covers the DSM-5-TR, neurobiology, and a self-regulation model and looks at why individuals engage in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and how to clearly distinguish it from suicidal behaviour.

Participants will learn how to conduct assessments, create trauma-informed case formulations, and use intervention strategies in their clinical work.

The workshop ends by looking into risk management, ethical aspects, and socio-cultural factors relevant to NSSI in the South African context. It equips mental health practitioners with tools they can apply right away in therapy.

Certification

This CPD workshop has been designed for psychologists, mental health practitioners and anyone interested in gaining knowledge in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI).

Workshop Presenter

Anita Kriel is a Clinical Psychologist by profession. Anita holds dual Master’s Degrees, in Clinical Psychology and Research Psychology and has published in local as well as international journals. She spent over 20 years in private practice before taking on a full-time position at SACAP as an Educator in 2023. She is the Team lead for the Honours program across campuses and teaches on the Honours program with a focus on Psychopathology and Ethics.