Staff responses to self-harm by children and young people in mental health inpatient settings: Experiences and views of children and young people, parents and staff

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the views of children and young people (CYP), parents and staff on how staff should respond to incidents of self-harm carried out by CYP in mental health inpatient settings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with CYP (n = 6), parents (n = 5) and mental health professionals (n = 6) with experience of this issue. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Two superordinate themes were identified: (1) The threshold for intervening; and (2) Interpersonal attributes of staff. There was general agreement among participants about the interpersonal skills that staff should possess to work safely and effectively with this population. There was disagreement between staff and parent participants about the appropriate threshold for using restrictive interventions to manage incidents of self-harm for this group. Our findings suggest that further work is needed to develop effective approaches for addressing self-harm in this population which are considered acceptable to all key stakeholders. The results of this study could be used to inform future intervention development.