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Implications for Treatment, Prevention & Research

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) refers to deliberate, socially unacceptable destruction of one's own body tissue performed without the intention to die. Research shows that about 1 in 25 adults has engaged in NSSI, but rates are significantly higher among adolescents: around 1 in 5 engage in NSSI, and among adolescents hospitalized for psychiatric issues, rates are considerably higher (40-80%).

Today's news of Anthony Bourdain's suicide, and earlier this week Kate Spade's death are tragic reminders that mental illness and suicide can affect anyone regardless of income or success. In addition, it speaks to the enormous impact that suicide has on loved ones - as partners, children, friends and family struggle with their loss.

You can’t venture on to the Internet these days without stumbling across some sort of editorial about the Netflix show Thirteen Reasons Why. The Chicago Tribune has called the show “highly problematic” and “dangerously wrong” (VanNoord, 2017). Vanity Fair has referred to Thirteen Reasons Why as “unsettling visual genius” (Robinson, 2017).

Surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse

Childhood experiences greatly influence our adult relationships, choices, and habits. Some experiences children face, though, are far more detrimental than others. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is an atrocity that causes a great deal of pain and suffering for adult survivors, and researchers have continued to study the long-term effects of CSA on adults.