Therapeutic Community Principles Guide Systemic Responses to Student Self-Injurious Behavior

Abstract

A view of self-injurious behavior (SIB) informed by trauma theory and therapeutic community principles provides a framework to guide clinical practice, promote a safe living and learning environment, and inform policy development to support a collaborative university response to SIB. A dual emphasis of concern for the safety of the individual who self-injures and the impact of the behavior on the living and learning environment of others is illustrated in a case example.

A Three-tiered Approach for Addressing Nonsuicidal Self-injury in the Classroom

“…NSSI affects numerous populations including those with mental illness (Bigard & Rapaport, 2006), abuse histories (Cuellar & Curry, 2007), intellectual disabilities (Kuhn & Triggs, 2009), autism (Reed, Luiselli, Morizio, & Child, 2010), and a range of developmental disabilities (Richman & Lindauer, 2005). Despite copious research on treating selfinjury in individuals with developmental disabilities (see Hanley, Iwata, & McCord, 2003, for a review), this article focuses on students with emotional and behavioral disorders.…”