An insight into professionals’ understanding of self-injury : An explorative study on self-injurious behaviors among adolescents from a social worker’s perspective

Abstract: Abstract The aim of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of social workers’ perception and experience of encountering and working with self-injurious behaviors among adolescents. A qualitative methodology was used where three semi-structured interviews with counselors employed at youth health centers were conducted. The analysis was carried out through three different themes where the researcher explored in the counsellors’ views on underlying causes, their professional experience and how they worked with the self-injuring problematic. The findings identified self-injury as symptoms of other underlying problems, the close coupling between work experiences and adapting an accepting view of the phenomenon, and the challenges the counsellors’ experience when working with these adolescents. Further findings identified counsellors’ understanding of the relationship between self-injury and suicidality as rather complex. Keywords; Self-injury, adolescents, suicidality, counsellors, social work