The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health Podcast Por Nicholas J. Westers Psy.D. ABPP arte de portada

The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health

The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health

De: Nicholas J. Westers Psy.D. ABPP
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Why do people self-injure? And what is the best way to respond when someone tells us they self-injure? Dr. Nicholas Westers, a clinical psychologist at Children's Health and Associate Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, collaborates with the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS) to interview the leading experts in the field of self-injury and self-harm as well as individuals with lived experience of self-injury and parents and family members of those who have self-injured. This podcast is meant to be a resource for parents, professionals, and people with lived experience.2021 The Psychology of Self-Injury Ciencia Ciencias Sociales Higiene y Vida Saludable Psicología Psicología y Salud Mental Relaciones
Episodios
  • Trauma and Self-Injury, with Dr. Rachel Zelkowitz

    Trauma and Self-Injury, with Dr. Rachel Zelkowitz
    Oct 31 2025

    In this episode, Dr. Rachel Zelkowitz defines trauma and its prevalence among individuals who self-injure, delineates posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from complex PTSD (C-PTSD), and discusses common treatments for addressing trauma, including Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Prolonged Exposure (PE). With interest in treating military veterans and active duty service members, Dr. Zelkowitz provides insights into nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), self-harm, and trauma among military members.

    Learn more about Dr. Zelkowitz and her work here, and learn more about common treatments for trauma at the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov.

    Below are links to some of the research referenced in today's episode:

    1. Gromatsky, M., Halverson, T. F., Dillon, K. H., Wilson, L. C., LoSavio, S. T., Walsh, S., Mellows, C., Mann, A. J., Goodman, M., & Kimbrel, N. A. (2023). The prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury in military personnel: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma Violence Abuse, 24(5), 2936-2952.
    2. Liu, R. T., Scopelliti, K. M., Pittman, S. K., & Zamora, A. S. (2018). Childhood maltreatment and non-suicidal self- injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Psychiatry, 5(1), 51–64.
    3. Harned, M. S., Korslund, K. E., Foa, E. B., & Linehan, M. M. (2012). Treating PTSD in suicidal and self-injuring women with borderline personality disorder: Development and preliminary evaluation of a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Prolonged Exposure Protocol. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 50(6), 381-6.
    4. Harned, M. S., Schmidt, S. C., Korslund, K. E., & Gallop, R. J.(2021). Does adding the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Prolonged Exposure (DBT PE) protocol for PTSD to DBT improve outcomes in public mental health settings? A pilot nonrandomized effectiveness trial with benchmarking. Behavior Therapy, 52(3), 639-655.

    Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

    The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."
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    50 m
  • Parenting with Lived Experience of Self-Injury, with Dr. Janis Whitlock

    Parenting with Lived Experience of Self-Injury, with Dr. Janis Whitlock
    Sep 26 2025
    Two topics are covered in this episode: (1) how parents with lived experience of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) can navigate conversations with their children about their own scarring and wounds, and (2) how parents (with or without lived experience) can navigate conversations about self-injury with their young adult children when they turn 18. Dr. Whitlock is emerita research faculty at Cornell University, a former Associate Director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, and the founder and director of the Self-Injury & Recovery Resources (SIRR) research program, which serves as one of the best and most comprehensive collations of online resources about self-injury: www.selfinjury.bctr.cornell.edu. It is a go-to resource for parents, therapists, friends, family members, schools, other caring adults, the media, and individuals with lived experience of self-injury. Dr. Whitlock is also Senior Advisor for The JED Foundation. To learn more about The JED Foundation, visit https://www.jedfoundation.org/.Below is some of the work referenced in this episode:Whitlock, J., & Lloyd-Richardson, E. E. (2019). Healing self-injury: A compassionate guide for parents and other loved ones. Oxford University Press.Taliaferro, L. A., Jang, S. T., Westers, N. J., Muehlenkamp, J. J., Whitlock, J. L., & McMorris, B. J. (2020). Associations between connections to parents and friends and non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents: The mediating role of developmental assets. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25(2), 359-371.Kibitov, A. A., & Mazo, G. E. (2023). Genetics and epigenetics of nonsuicidal self-injury: A narrative review. Russian Journal of Genetics, 59(12), 1265-1276.Dawkins, J., Hasking, P., & Boyes, M. (2021). Knowledge of parental nonsuicidal self-injury in young people who self-injure: The mediating role of outcome expectancies. Journal of Family Studies, 27(4), 479–490.Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at thepsychologyofselfinjury@gmail.comWant to be involved in research? Send us a message at thepsychologyofselfinjury@gmail.com and we will see if we can match you to an active study.Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."
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    53 m
  • DSM Update: Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Disorder, or a Clinical Specifier?

    DSM Update: Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Disorder, or a Clinical Specifier?
    Aug 29 2025
    In this episode, four of the top experts in researching and treating nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) talk about the research behind NSSI Disorder, the evolution of how they now think about NSSI within the context of the DSM, and why they now advocate for an NSSI specifier rather than an NSSI Disorder in the DSM. They also delineate their proposed criteria for self-harm as a specifier and both the positive and negative consequences of doing so.Below are papers referenced in this episode:Lengel, G. J., Muehlenkamp, J. J., Zetterqvist, M., Ammerman, B. A., Brausch, A. M., & Washburn, J. J. (2025). Non-suicidal self-injury: proposal to shift designation from disorder to a clinical specifier. The Lancet Psychiatry. Online advanced publication.Shaffer, D., & Jacobson, C. (2009). Proposal to the DSM-V childhood disorder and mood disorder work groups to include non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) as a DSM-V disorder. American Psychiatric Association, 1-21.Muehlenkamp, J. J. (2005). Self-injurious behavior as a separate clinical syndrome. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75(2), 324–333.Brausch, A. (2019). Diagnostic classification of nonsuicidal self-injury. In J. J. Washburn (Ed.), Nonsuicidal self-injury: Advances in research and practice (pp. 71-87). Routledge.NONSUICIDAL SELF-INJURY SPECIFIER (PROPOSED CRITERIA):A. The specifier should be used when the nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior is characterized by the following:The individual intentionally engages in NSSI behavior to inflict bodily damage or painThe individual's NSSI behavior is recent, such that it occurred at least once during the past monthThe individual’s NSSI behavior is repetitive, such that it occurred on about 5 or more days in an individual’s lifetimeNote: culturally specific NSSI behavior (e.g., piercings and tattoos) and harm that is habitual (e.g., scab picking, nail biting, and hair pulling) should not be considered to be NSSI unless the behavior is explicitly for the purposes of causing damage or pain to one’s body. The NSSI specifier can still be applied if the behavior occurs under the influence of substances, as long as the behavior meets the required features.Coding note: use code Z91.52 for individuals with a previous history of NSSI when all criteria except for recency are met (A2).Want to have a bigger role on the podcast?:Should you or someone you know be interviewed on the podcast? We want to know! Please fill out this Google doc form, and we will be in touch with more details if it’s a good fit.Want to hear your question and have it answered on the podcast? Please send an audio clip of your question (60 seconds or less) to @DocWesters on Instagram or Twitter/X, or email us at thepsychologyofselfinjury@gmail.comWant to be involved in research? Send us a message at thepsychologyofselfinjury@gmail.com and we will see if we can match you to an active study.Want to interact with us through comments and polls? You can on Spotify!Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter/X (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated as one of the "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts" by Feedspot and one of the Top 100 Psychology Podcasts by Goodpods. It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."
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    1 h y 3 m

Featured Article: The Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal


Mental illnesses are as varied and unique as the people who live with them. Substance abuse, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and many other conditions all fall under the umbrella of mental illness. But even those who do not have a diagnosable condition may struggle with their mental health from time to time. Mental health podcasts can still be a valuable and reassuring resource for many.

Featured Article The Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal
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I am a professional and work in residential treatment. I was new to handling incidents on self harm from our clients & I wanted to seek understanding on this topic. This podcast is amazing & I have learned a lot to which I take with me into my practice.

Amazing

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I'm so glad this podcast exists and I believe societies need to have this discussion and follow this science and improve our methods of responding to NSSI. Thank you Dr. Westers and everyone contributing to this.

This is incredible work!

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