I usually refer to it as self-injury or self-injurious behavior when talking about it like in class or referring to my clients (who are developmentally disabled and for them it's usually not cutting but other behaviors, many of which I have also done). I'm ok with saying "cutting" if that's the specific behavior. Labeling anyone as "a cutter" sounds derogatory to me though. I had a boss at a residential treatment center who referred to some of the girls as cutters and said it with such loathing in her voice. That was inappropriate.

My T will also follow my lead on terminology most of the time. But we don't often talk about cutting, specifically. We're more likely to talk about "self-destructive behavior" which includes much more. It's not necessarily physical harm. We don't normally talk about the actual physical acts of self-injury. I have started to describe that to her in some detail, and she redirects the conversation. When I wanted to give detail I was trying indirectly to describe the intensity of my feelings, but I wasn't actually talking about feelings.

How you feel and why you choose desctructive coping methods and what you need to be able to get more out of life are a lot more important issues to address than specific details of what you might have done to yourself.

Rap