Self-harm and Substance Abuse – Contemporary Issues in nursing
Self-harm and substance abuse are some of the most negative coping skills people use. They may provide short-term relief from stress, depression, and frustration but only create more pain in the future.
There is an increasing focus on addressing the needs of people who self-harm, substance abuse and/or are suicidal. This project aims to ensure that these people are supported in line with best practice when they come into contact with a broad range of individuals who can help. These could be mental health specialists or other specialist professionals who can undertake preventive interventions. The relationship between self-harm and suicide is complicated. Although people who self-harm are significantly more likely to die by suicide or to harm themselves using more serious methods than the general population who do not self-harm, people have many motivations for self-harm and are not always intent on dying.12 Suicidal intent may not be evident early on, but often emerges over time.13 Self-harm should always be taken seriously, as it will inevitably reflect an attempt to manage a high level of psychological distress
Assessment task details and instructions – Self-harm and Substance Abuse
You should provide a 15 minute face to face presentation which covers the below criteria
1. At the beginning of the module you identified and compared your current knowledge and skills against a contemporary framework, guidance or literature that articulates expectations of competence which relates to Self-harm and Substance Abuse. You should discuss some of the key points of your self assessment, relating this to pertinent literature.
2. Identify how the option content has enabled you to develop new knowledge and skills, comparing these against your initial self-assessment.
3. Reflecting upon your new and existing knowledge and skills consider how this will influence your future role as a nurse, patient care and service delivery, as well as the impact on your own developing nursing values
Self-harm and substance abuse share another similarity in that they are consistently challenging to track. Since these behaviors generate shame and guilt, people are not always willing to admit their actions.
As a practice nurse you may also use a combination of psychotherapies and medications to address the thoughts, feelings, behaviors and biology of the person to create and reinforce healthy coping skills.