No longer need the topic of self-inflicted violence be approached with confusion and trepidation. The arrival of Self-Injury: Psychotherapy with People Who Engage in Self-Inflicted Violence offers a sigh of relief and a cry of celebration. With gentle wisdom and intellectual mastery, Dr. Connors transcends previous work on this subject. Her dignified presentation and simple genius will impact all who are fortunate enough to read this book.
Ruta Mazelis, editor, The Cutting Edge Newsletter At last—an alternative to giving up before we start! When we are confronted with a self-mutilating patient, we are on the high seas without a compass. That is, until now. In this book, Dr. Connors has gathered and presented valuable data on every aspect of treating those who self-injure. Instead of diagnosing 'borderline' and looking for a brave soul to refer such patients to, we may have a handle on the problem ourselves. Every psychotherapist must read this book.
Abraham J. Twerski M.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Robin Connors provides a frank and compassionate discussion of one of the most challenging issues trauma survivor clients and their therapists face. She presents much of the accumulated wisdom about relational therapy for those who self-injure in language that is accessible to lay readers and clinicians alike. Dr. Connors speaks from a place of honesty, humility, and significant clinical experience in providing practical guidelines for understanding and responding constructively to self-injury. This book is an excellent resource for clinicians and those who self-injure.
Laurie Anne Pearlman, PhD, Center for Adult and Adolescent Psychotherapy In this courageous, beautifully written book, Dr. Robin Connors has dared to address, with much compassion and understanding, the issue of patients who engage in behaviors that many of us find incomprehensible if not downright offensive. She views self-inflicted violence as a fundamentally adaptive and life-preserving coping mechanism—a desperate effort to preserve self-integrity in the face of impending fragmentation. These behaviors are enactments, to communicate something deeply important about the patient's internal experience. The therapeutic goal then is to help these patients speak the unspeakable, tolerate the intolerable, and manage the unmanageable. Connors's book is at once life-affirming, heartwarming, and inspiring—a must-read for any of us working with patients who inflict injury upon themselves as a frantic call for help.
Martha Stark, MD, Boston Psychoanalytic Institute and Harvard Medical School