Self-harm training in secondary schools: An educational psychology intervention using interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract

Self-harm in adolescents is a major public health concern in the UK and affects at least one in 12 young people aged 11–25 years. In light of the recent government guidelines on Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools, it is timely for educational psychologists, equipped with applied psychology, research skills, training in therapeutic approaches, understanding of pedagogy and educational systems, proactively to claim their role in supporting schools in understanding and working with low risk self-harm at both a preventative and early intervention level.This paper outlines a mixed methods research project which explored and evaluated the experiences of a group of 10 key pastoral support staff in a secondary school who attended a training workshop on adolescent self-harm. The aim of the project was to explore each participant’s experiences of the workshop in order to capture the meaning and psychological processes at work. The research design comprised qualitative (interpretative phenomenological analysis, IPA) and quantitative approaches (pre- and post-training rating scale questionnaires).This was a small scale research project, therefore the key findings are limited to the specific school context and pastoral staff. However, the well-developed and overarching theme of ‘connectedness’ showed that the training provided a safe and shared reflective space for each participant to connect emotionally and psychologically with their anxieties and understanding around self-harm, which supported their change in attitude and beliefs around self-harm. The shared training experience created a peer support group resource for school based consultations.