Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand how NVR principles can be applied to cases involving self-harm and suicidal ideation.
• Identify strategies to reduce risk and escalatory responses and foster anchoring connections between parents, young people, their families and community members.
• Apply trauma-informed principles to address relational and contextual factors contributing to self-harming behaviours.
• Equip parents, carers and professionals with tools to provide vigilant care and support without reinforcing escalatory patterns, increasing anxiety or accommodation.
• Engage a supportive network of professionals, carers, and family members to create a containment and multi-point anchoring framework for at-risk individuals.
• Use non-escalatory communication strategies, such as announcements and supporter announcements, to de-escalate crises, reduce risk and foster relational repair through parental presence.
• Utilise evidence-based NVR practices and strategies to address self-harm and suicidal ideation effectively.
• Recognise the importance of self and collective care for professionals and carers to sustain the emotional demands of the implementation of NVR to support high-risk cases.

The Statistics:

• One in six children aged 5 to 16 were identified as having a probable mental health problem in July 2021, a significant increase from one in nine in 2017. This equates to five children in every classroom.
• The number of A&E attendances by young people aged 18 or under with a recorded diagnosis of a psychiatric condition more than tripled between 2010 and 2018-19.
• 83% of young people with mental health needs agreed that the COVID pandemic had made their mental health worse.
• In 2018-19, 24% of 17-year-olds reported having self-harmed in the previous year, and 7% reported having self-harmed with suicidal intent at some point in their lives. Additionally, 16% reported high levels of psychological distress.
• Suicide was the leading cause of death for males and females aged between 5 to 34 in 2019.

Nearly half of 17-19-year-olds with a diagnosable mental health disorder have self-harmed or attempted suicide at some point, rising to 52.7% for young women.^

Additional Statistics and References:

• Self-harm is one of the leading causes of hospital admissions among young people, with an increase of 68% in hospital presentations for 13-18-year-olds between 2011 and 2014 in England (NHS Digital, 2019).
• Suicide remains a leading cause of death among people aged 10–24 years in the UK, with rates rising over the past decade (ONS, 2023).
• NVR helps parents transition from helplessness to presence, significantly reducing relational escalations and promoting parental self-control (Weinblatt & Omer, 2008).
• The containment phase of NVR, incorporating announcements, vigilant care and persistent presence, supports parents in creating an anchoring framework that reduces suicidal tendencies and promotes resilience (Omer & Dulberger, 2015).

^Statistics quoted from youngminds.org