MORE than 180 people are expected to attend a Bunbury forum which will aim to take the fear out of dealing with young people who deliberately self-harm.
The free public forum, to be held on June 26, will see a panel of experienced clinicians lead a discussion with the audience on the topic.
WA Country Health South West mental health service manager John Brearley said a number of local schools, families and agencies had identified self-harm was an increasing trend which needed to be better understood and managed.
“It’s something that can frighten people – parents become scared thinking what happens if it impacts my child?” Mr Brearley said.
“But what we want to do is take away the fear and replace it with understanding.”
Mr Brearley said the discussion aimed to empower people to find a good way to deal with the trend which was increasing across the globe.
“There is a whole spectrum of severity and reasons why this can happen – it could be kids mucking around with tattooing or it could be very aggressive,” he said.
“We want the forum to be able to identify that spectrum and provide ways to respond accordingly.”
If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
