I don't think anyone can really say if your child has a mental health issue(s) or is attention seeking or both except for maybe the professionals and they might be wrong. I've had professionals tell me I wasn't suicidal when I was and I've had professionals tell me I was suicidal when I wasn't. So they aren't fool proof. (Not that I was trying to fool them--I was trying to get the appropriate amount of help).


If your child's therapist doesn't know about the cutting please let them know. As a person who is in recovery from self harm and it is a real ***** to quit, it took being inpatient for me to be able to see how serious the self harm was. What helps me (and might help you) is to have a group of ladies I can go to that I can talk to (usually via text) when I am feeling down, upset, or wanting to self harm. And they talk with me and pray with me and it helps me a lot. Is that attention seeking? I don't know. I have to have attention to get the help that I need.


I don't think picking your child up from school frequently is a good answer though. Check with your insurance. They may have a patient advocate or case manager that can help coordinate care (it's usually for a short term amount of time) but they can get everyone on the same track and help with coping techniques and stuff.


If your child says that she feels worse on the meds, she probably does. It might take a combination of medications and some antidepressants have been known to cause suicidal ideas in young people so be cautious of that. Consult the doctor or pharmacist for more information.


Not sure if this was at all helpful. Hope you get some answers and some good ideas on how to help your daughter.