Involving youth lived experience of self-harm:testing a new intervention in UK emergency departments

When adolescents present to emergency departments with self-harm, it’s a critical opportunity to intervene to provide meaningful support. Young people presenting to emergency departments in crisis face many difficulties, such as stigma, feeling unheard or “tick boxed” and being sent away with general advice and untailored support. We joined the Supporting Adolescents with Self-Harm (SASH) study, trialling a new intervention specifically designed for young people seeking support for self-harm/suicidality from emergency departments. The intervention involves a combination of a Therapeutic Assessment, safety plan and solution-focused follow up care, placing the young persons voice at the centre. The project is led by researchers at City, University of London and Queen Mary, University of London.

Method

Youth involvement in this study is being led by the McPin Foundation. A youth advisory group was formed with 8 young people (aged 16-26), all with lived experience of self-harm/suicidality. The advisory group meet 4 times a year. The group are the voice of lived experience for the project and have had crucial input throughout, such as training medical practitioners, trialling the measures, informing recruitment, and feeding back on the structure of the care that young people in crisis receive. Their involvement has and continues to shape the project ensuring that the SASH intervention best supports adolescents who present to emergency departments with self-harm/suicidality.

Results and discussion

We will explore first hand lived experiences of working as a youth advisor on SASH. We will reflect upon the advisory role as described in adverts and in practice, skills used in the role, support required and opportunities for training and development. We will also focus on the support and adjustments needed for working with young people when having discussions about self-harm/suicide and how best to ensure young people feel safe without inhibiting these important conversations.