[Joanne3]

Hey everyone,

My name is Jo and I am new here. I am 19 years old and have been self harming since I was 12. If I had to sum up what is wrong with me I'd say I also am depressed and have bad anxiety. My question is, I am going to see a psychologist on Wednesday next week and I'm terrified of telling her I self-harm. I've heard a lot of bed stories about how they lock you up in a mental ward. I've been doing it recently, mostly on my wrists, upper arm and thighs and a lot of them are really deep and have gone without stitches so it's not a very pretty sight.

I want to be completely honest and open with my therapist (I know not to tell them anything about suicidal thoughts...thats just asking for a ticket to the mental hospital). I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the would happen if I told her and what she would most likely do? And if you think its a good idea to tell her? I really don't want to be evaluated in a mental ward but I do want to get better.

Thanks,

Jo

[tigersassy]

My experience it depends what they think. If they think you are dangerous (kill) yourself or others they will put you into a stress unit. Its not that bad from what I remember. If they don't think you're going to hurt yourself they will set up a safety plan in case you ever do feel like that. If they don't think you will follow through with safety plan they will probably put you in hospital till you feel you can promise. After that they'll work on different coping strategies to deal with whatever your triggers are. Its hard work going through this. If you need to talk you can pm me. I've had 4 different professionals now and I've been inpatient 3 times. I wish you luck. And you aren't alone.

[ThisWayOut]

Pretty much what tiger said... I have told therapists on my first visit that I self-harm. Even when I was actively doing it, the good ones took the time to dig deeper and assess the risk I posed to myself. I have yet to be hospitalized on my first meeting with any therapist... Even when admitting suicidal thoughts, they talked to me about it beyond just me saying I had the thoughts. The times I said I was likely to act on it without reaching out for help, I was still given the option to go inpatient on my own (though I'm sure they would have sent me had I declined to choose that option).
Even in that session, you can reveal a little at a time and see how she reacts. I met with one therapist who wanted to hospitalize me on history alone... needless to say I did not reveal anything to her, but cut the session short and left. On that note, don't give up if this woman is not the right fit for you in terms of treatment. It often helps to have some questions to ask (specifically about how they handle self-harm, what their experience is with it... and other questions to get to know her style better). You are interviewing them as much as they are you...
good luck and let us know how it goes.