Women Today

This week Appleton therapist Brenda Velissaris of Saris Counseling in Appleton addresses a subject my two teen daughters brought up just last week: cutting.

Some children cut themselves, and it’s an action that can be disturbing to friends as well as family members.

It’s my hope that parents and teens read this column to gain an understanding of why children do this to themselves and what can be done to help them. – Terri Dougherty, editor, Women magazine.

Here’s some valuable information from our guest blogger:

Two weeks ago I received a call from a concerned Mom about her child who is cutting on his arms. Why is he doing this she asked?

Cutting is a symptom of a larger issue going on in a child’s life. It is an exterior manifestation to express interior pain; a way of having control over feelings that a child doesn’t know how to express or doesn’t feel comfortable expressing.

Cutting is used as a way to cope with problems that a child doesn’t know how to fix or deal with. Some say cutting is a cry for help.

Cutting is when a person will take a sharp object such as a knife, piece of glass, paperclips even, and cuts on parts of the body. Cutting usually occurs in places on the body that cannot be seen by others as a way to keep things a secret. The cuts can range from superficial cuts to deep slashes in need of medical care.

Cutting has been an ill-equipped coping strategy used by teens and adults alike for a very long time.

It has been within the last few years, however, that cutting has become more prominent because people are talking about it more and seeking help for it.

Mental health providers are hearing about cutting more and more now, as parents don’t know what to do and teens can’t seem to stop.

The best advice I can give is to get your child to a therapist who understands cutting and the complex dynamics behind it.

Therapeutic treatment, both individual and family, is the only known way of ending this problem.

Warmly,

Brenda
www.sariscounseling.com