title: Appalling and appealing: a qualitative study of the character of men's self-harm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To engage with the experiential phenomena of men's self-harm, to get a sense of its 'feel', its character, and to relate these things in a useful and authentic way.
  
  
  METHODS
  Qualitative in-depth interview study with design input from service users' groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hermeneutic phenomenology. Two interviews with each of four participants in their homes, with the intention of developing understanding through dialogic interview and reflection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Some of the character of men's self-harm was recognizable from the psychodynamic and functional literature: soothing practices, dissociation, and an ambivalent stuckness around separation versus incorporation. There were other, unexpected structures present: existential vulnerability and openness, sacrifice, lack of boundary, and insatiability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Professionals who work with men who self-harm may like to be aware of these relational dynamics.
authors.affiliation: University of Plymouth, UK. graeme.russell@nhs.net
authors.forename: Graeme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: Duncan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011613:Psychotherapy; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*