The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health21 Sep

Can Imagery Help Reduce Self-Harm?, with Dr. Nicholas Westers

Mental imagery refers to sensory processing in the absence of sensory stimuli, and this can be through our visual senses or our senses of hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Below are links to some of the research referenced in this episode. If you want to go back and listen to each of the exercises, the time markers are 5:08 - 10:11 (Exercise #1), 24:53 - 36:48 (Exercise #2), and 42:26 - 50:50 (Exercise #3).

Click here for the link to the Imaginator App on the App Store for iPhone.

Lawrence, H. R., Balkind, E. G., Ji, J. L., Burke, T. A., & Liu, R. T. (2023). Mental imagery of suicide and non-suicidal self-injury: A meta-analysis and systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 103, 102302.
McEvoy, P. M., Hayes, S., Hasking, P. A., & Rees, C. S. (2017). Thoughts, images, and appraisals associated with acting and not acting on the urge to self-injure. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 57, 163-171.
Cloos, M., Di Simplicio, M., Hammerle, F., & Steil, R. (2020). Mental images, entrapment and affect in young adults meeting criteria of nonsuicidal self-injury disorder (NSSID) – a daily diary study. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 7, 4.
Ji, J. L., Kyron, M., Saulsman, L., Becerra, R., Lin, A., Hasking, P., & Holmes, E. A. (2024). Picturing self-harm: Investigating flash-forward mental imagery as a proximal and modifiable driver of non-suicidal self-injury. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 54, 713-727.
Bang, S.-K., & Lee, E. (2024). Short imagery rescripting intervention effects on non-suicidal self-injury college students: A randomized controlled trial. The Open Psychology Journal, 17, e18743501342804.
Schmied, E., Hack, L., Connemann, B., Sosic-Vasic, Z., & Kroener, J. (2024). You’re not alone: Imagery rescripting for adolescents who self-harm. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1395603.
Di Simplicio, M., Appiah-Kusi, E., Wilkinson, P., Watson, P., Meiser-Stedman, C., Kavanagh, D. J., & Holmes, E. A. (2020). Imaginator: A proof-of-concept feasibility trial of a brief imagery-based psychological intervention for young people who self-harm. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 50(3), 724-740.
Knäuper, B., McCollam, A., Rosen-Brown, A., Lacaille, J., Kelso, E., & Roseman, M. (2011). Fruitful plans: Adding targeted mental imagery to implementation intentions increases fruit consumption. Psychology and Health, 26(5), 601-617.

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram @DocWesters. To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter/X (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated #1 by Feedspot in their list of "10 Best Self Harm Podcasts" and #5 in their "20 Best Clinical Psychology Podcasts." It has also been featured in Audible's "Best Mental Health Podcasts to Defy Stigma and Begin to Heal."

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Episoder(77)

Lived Experience: Brittany's Story of Self-Injury & Faith (Re-Release)

In this episode, Brittany details her experience of engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), how it started, and how she makes sense of self-injury and her faith in God. She explains two starkly di...

28 Aug 1h 6min

The Psychology of Self-Injury Pain (Re-Release)

What is the relationship between nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and pain? Are individuals who self-injure less sensitive to pain than those who don’t self-injure? What are the ethics involved in condu...

31 Jul 1h 5min

The Neurobiology of Self-Injury (in Layman's Terms) [Re-Release]

What goes on at the neurobiological level that makes someone more vulnerable to self-injure or self-harm? What biological risk factors are at play? What roles do the vagus nerve, cortisol levels, and ...

26 Jun 50min

The Psychology of Self-Injury Scarring (Re-Release)

How are scars from nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) different than physical scars that are unintentional or result from non-self-inflicted wounds ? What psychological effects can result from daily remin...

29 Mai 43min

Eating Disorders & Self-Harm (Re-Release)

The term "self-harm" is an umbrella term, encompassing a broad range of behaviors, under which is included substance abuse and misuse, suicide, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), and even eating disorder...

28 Apr 38min

Emotion Regulation Individual Therapy for Adolescents (ERITA) Who Self-Harm (Re-Release)

Emotion Regulation Individual Therapy for Adolescents (ERITA) and its internet-delivered version (IERITA) is just one of a couple of treatments developed specifically to address nonsuicidal self-injur...

27 Mar 1h 13min

Emotion Regulation Group Therapy (ERGT) for Self-Harm (Re-Release)

A lot of therapies address the context in which nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and self-harm may occur, but only a few treatments have been designed to address NSSI specifically. In this episode, we d...

27 Feb 1h 40min