Positive Focus: A Groupwork Approach to Self-Harm

Highly Commended in Health and Social Care in the 2016 BMA Medical Book Awards

Positive Focus introduces a seven session group work framework which has been designed to support young people who self-harm. The group aims to encourage young people to develop alternative coping strategies for dealing with their feelings, thereby reducing the need to self-harm. Each session includes topics such as; anger/anxiety management; relaxation; assertion/communication skills; distraction/channelling; problem solving; and self-control. Group members will receive printed information from the sessions to take away with them and build into a support reference. The sessions will enhance the individual's feelings of self-control and responsibility for their actions, giving them a sense of choice about how they deal with difficult situations and feelings.