Adolescents
Self-destructive Behavior
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Is your teen self-inducing vomit? Is he/she binging or using compensatory behavior (through laxatives, extreme exercise, etc.) to prevent weight gain?
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Is your teen cutting, branding, pulling her/his hair?
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Does your teen have multiple piercings or tattoos?
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Do you suspect that your teen is using drugs, alcohol or drinking harmful chemicals?
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Have you noticed that your teen has unstable personal relationships?
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Does your teen engage in self-destructive behavior such as irresponsible sexual encounters, reckless driving?
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Does your teen have intense anger, profound fear of abandonment and unstable self-image?
All of the above are symptoms of self-destructive behavior, a very serious behavior that affects millions of people. And the number of young people who participate in these acts of self-mutilation is growing: about two million people in the U.S. are self-injurers and approximately one per cent of the population has inflicted physical injury upon themselves at some time in their life. This is a mechanism they use as a way to cope with an overwhelming situation or feeling. It occurs as a result of not having learned how to identify or express difficult feelings in a healthy way. Although self-harm is rarely a suicidal act, it is very important to seek help rather sooner than later, because sometimes self-harm may accidentally go farther than intended and end up as a life-threatening injury. I'd like to help your teen to learn how to identify or express difficult feelings in a healthy way. I can also teach him/her how to reduce behaviors of interpersonal chaos, abrupt changes in emotions, moods and impulsiveness.
