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No Secrets |
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Supporting those affected by self-injury |
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Meet Vicky… My Name is Vicky, am 21 and I work with Kerri as volunteer for the group. I am one of the three who is doing the stamp out stigma walk (see events).
I have always been interested in mental health and the wellbeing of others. When I went to college in 2003 to study forensic science, my interest in self-harm started to develop. I had several friends who I know carried out acts of self-harm and this is when I started carrying out research into the area. Reading everything I could get my hands on, which unfortunately was not a lot. I soon started to understand there was not a lot of help or understanding of the subject area. It became apparent that even some researchers in the area seemed to be some what deluded with their own opinions and not that of the people themselves. When I went to University to study Psychology in 2005, my interest continued further and I carried out my first piece of qualitative (interviews) research with students who did not self harm and did not generally have much contact with the issue. Participants soon opened up and I saw some positive but misunderstood attitudes. A lack of understanding in the area became my main focus and worry. In my final year at University I decided to study deliberate self-harm (DSH) for my dissertation. However I wanted to look at people who got on with their everyday life, went to work, played sports, socialised with friends and so on. My research title is “How those who Deliberately Self Harm perceive their behaviour, and the help they receive and how this can be improved” which you can read by clicking here. I want to help and support those who do self-harm and improve the help that is available. If you do sometimes self harm, do not be afraid to ask for help, you are not alone and do not let anyone mis-treat you because of this. If you work with those who carry out acts of deliberate self-harm, be supportive, do not judge and most important of all, listen! If you wish to contact me with regards to my research, or just to talk please do contact me at the email address below. |
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© No Secrets 2008 |