Clinical psychologist Rose Galea. Photo: Jason Borg

A psychologist who has seen self-harm cases increase from one to 12 every six months is urging society to take the issue seriously.

Clinical psychologist Rose Galea told The Sunday Times of Malta that one reason for the growth in the number of cases was peer pressure.

“An important part of personal development for adolescents is to feel part of a group. If a couple of group members say they self-harmed and felt good, others will follow the trend and that is why the phenomenon is growing,” clinical psychologist Rose Galea told The Sunday Times of Malta.

Some might brush it off as peer pressure, but every case needs to be taken seriously, she warned.

“Self-harm is a symptom of an underlying issue like conflict within the family, bullying or low self-esteem.”

Ms Galea was contacted after she gave a talk at a Caritas educational meeting about self-harm and personal development. She has worked with the Crisis Intervention Team, Mount Carmel Hospital and at community mental health centres.

Her interest in this issue grew when she saw a surge in cases and requests by school counsellors over the past year.

Without excluding the possibility that there might have been a substantial amount of people who self-harmed but did not seek help in the past, until a year-and-a-half ago Ms Galea used to have a self-harm case every six months. Nowadays she sees two youths every month.

According to Psychiatric Times, globally only half of young people who self-harm seek professional help, while five per cent who are admitted to hospital after they deliberately harm themselves, commit suicide within nine years.

The most common form of self-harm is cutting of arms, legs and torso, but it includes pulling out hair, drug overdose and breaking bones.

Although figures cannot be compared, the trend in Malta is similar to self-harm cases abroad.

“The internet has turned the world into a village. A lot of young adolescents log onto sites that not only explain how to self-harm deliberately, but also falsely claim that self-harm releases their emotional pain and that it’s the ‘in thing’ to do,” she said.

Young people who engage in self-harm are at heightened risk of other behaviour, like unprotected sex and illicit drugs.

Anton Grech, psychiatry chairman at Mount Carmel Hospital had also said around three people are admitted to hospital every day after harming themselves and that such cases had to be taken seriously.

Reiterating that self-harm needed to be taken seriously, Ms Galea gave an example of an adolescent who did not have coping strategies to deal with conflict within his family.

“Instead of talking to his parents, he would lock up his feelings, go online and find a solution there. Using a screen instead of a person helps him distance himself from human interaction so it is an easy way out.

“This means we need to help adolescents express themselves in a healthy way through talking or sports for example.”

She also referred to the fast-paced school system where adolescents realise they might not be good at everything. This is where they start comparing themselves with others and their self-esteem and confidence plummets.

“When self-harm is used to express emotional pain, that pain is immense. In fact, when they scratch, cut or burn, they feel a sense of relief because that pain is released physically. However this turns into a cycle: emotional pain, release through self-harm, momentary relief, guilt, emotional pain, and so on.

“Until some seven years ago students would run to the sea to celebrate the end of the scholastic year. Today they go online. Do we need to take a step back and enjoy life through relationships, nature and sports? We should use the internet for our benefit and not let it control us.”

Causes of self harm:

• Depression;
• Low self-esteem and a sense of hopelessness;
• Impulsivity;
• Bullying or abuse;
• Family dysfunction;
• Poverty.

Tips to parents and friends

• Look out for long sleeves in summer;
• Ask questions if you become suspicious;
• Seek professional help or therapy;
• Do not blame them;
• Encourage them to talk and open up;
• Show them you are ready to listen.