Appalling and appealing: a qualitative study of the character of men's self-harm.
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.
Russell
Graeme
G
University of Plymouth, UK. graeme.russell@nhs.net
Moss
Duncan
D
Miller
Joe
J
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*