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Reinventing intention: 'self-harm' and the 'cry for help' in postwar Britain
1Centre for the History of Emotions, School of History, Queen Mary, University of London, Canterbury, UK. chris.millard@hotmail.co.uk
Current Opinion in Psychiatry
|October 6, 2012
Summary
Contemporary literature grapples with the concept of self-harm. New psychological services in hospitals have fueled the rise of self-harm behaviors, particularly in Britain.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Sociology
- Cultural Studies
Background:
- The concept of self-harm has gained significant public attention in the last decade.
- The current 'epidemic' of self-harm in Britain has historical roots in postwar mental healthcare reorganization.
Observation:
- Contemporary Anglophone literature navigates complex conceptual challenges concerning intention in self-damaging behaviors.
- Changes in mental healthcare organization have facilitated new interpretations of physical injuries.
Findings:
- The expansion of psychiatric services within district general hospitals enables new understandings of self-injury.
- Self-harm is increasingly interpreted as a form of psychosocial communication or affect self-regulation.
Implications:
- The integration of psychiatric expertise into general hospitals has shaped the contemporary understanding and phenomenon of self-harm.
- These developments allow for the aggregation and national projection of individual narratives of self-injury, contributing to an epidemic scale.
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