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CounselEd

Self-injurious Behavior in Social Media Consumed Youth

2

T

he overwhelming presence of youth engaging in

self-injurious behavior can leave today’s therapist

feeling perplexed and inadequate. This article

challenges the reader to adapt a new understand-

ing of the behavior through the lens of trauma. It

explores how the developing brain of an adolescent has the

potential to perceive the world, complicated by social media,

as traumatic. Self-injurious behavior (SIB) can be a response

to navigating the novel relationship with their prefrontal

cortex and the pressure for social acceptance versus au-

tonomy. A trauma-informed approach to treating self-injury

is explored with the introduction of the T.E.A. Model (which

stands for Together/Transform, Educate/Empower, Accept/

Autonomy). When competing with day-long social media

exposure, a 50-minute session can seem insufficient. The

T.E.A. Model guides the therapist to optimize session time

by helping clients make sense of their behavior, respond

therapeutically, and create opportunities for change while

decreasing the risk for future trauma experiences.

When discussing self-injurious behavior, it is imperative

to define what it is and is not. King-Miller (2014) defined SIB

as the direct and intentional injuring of oneself characterized

as repetitive, low-lethality actions that alter or damage one’s

body. Other SIB synonyms include self-harm or self-muti-

lation comprised of cutting, burning, scratching, and biting.

There are, of course, other forms of self-injuring, such as

restricting food intake, promiscuity, extreme risk taking and

so on. However, for the purpose of this article, SIB specifi-

cally refers to behaviors related to direct bodily harm and

mutilation without suicidal intent as outlined in the

DSM-5

diagnosis of non-suicidal self-injury disorder (American

Psychiatric Association, 2013; Favazza & Rosenthal, 1993).

A common mistake made by parents and community mem-

bers (i.e., school faculty, youth pastors, etc.) is confusing

SIB for suicidal ideation or attempt. When caretakers rush to

this assumption, they fear the worst and react with extreme

consequences that isolate and disempower the client. Ac-

cording to a 2004 study of 390 high school students, there

was no correlation between the attitudes toward life of those

who engage in SIB and those who have attempted suicide.

Furthermore, the findings indicated that there are significant

differences between the patterns of behavior and cognition

between adolescents who self-injure and those who have at-

tempted suicide, suggesting no evidence for treating the two

groups the same (Muehlenkamp & Gutierrez, 2004).

Self-injury is a perplexing behavior, as it challenges the

human mind to consider why one would be drawn to inflict

ADELE M. MARTELLE, MSW, LCSW

“A common mistake

made by parents and

community members is

confusing SIB for suicidal

ideation or attempt. When

caretakers

rush to this

assumption

, they

fear

the worst

and react with

extreme consequences

that

isolate and

disempower

the client.”