Hi Susan!

Welcome to PC.

There are some resources here on the site that may help to understand this addiction but to put it simply - causing injury to oneself is a coping mechanism to deal with something else.

Does her therapist know about the self-injury?

All you can really do is be supportive and try to get her to stop the behaviour now (if possible). But it has to be her decision - forcing someone to give up their way of 'coping' will just make things worse - even if it is painful to watch someone do damage to themselves.

There are a lot of good books out there to help understand self-injury, if you're interested in reading. Otherwise, can you talk to your daughter in a non-confrontational way and see how you can help? Some people do well with talking out their feelings. Or finding new ways to deal with things. (Posted list in this forum about what you can do instead of SIng is a good tool to look at).

Book ideas (I've read them, they're sometimes painful to read but useful to understand this addiction)

- "Bodily Harm" by Karen Conterio and Wendy Lader
- "Cutting - Understanding and Overcoming Self Mutilation" by Steven Levenkron

... if I can help in any way, please send me a PM!