A Thematic Exploration of the Experience of Inpatient Mental-Health Service-Users Who Are Prevented from Self-Harming

Thomas, J, Corcoran, R ORCID: 0000-0001-8900-9199, Reid, G and Bryant, A (2025) A Thematic Exploration of the Experience of Inpatient Mental-Health Service-Users Who Are Prevented from Self-Harming Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 46 (7). pp. 702-710. ISSN 0161-2840, 1096-4673

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Abstract

Research and expert by experience (EBE) testimony has created a foundational understanding of self-harm as a mediator of psychological distress. However, risk-management is frequently prioritised in mental-healthcare services approaches. This research builds on existing understandings of self-harm to explore “if self-harm mediates psychological distress, then does preventing self-harm have consequences that must be understood and navigated?”. This research thus explores the lived experience of preventive measures (i.e. means-restrictions) which limit participants’ use of self-harm and the impact this has on their distress whilst in an inpatient environment. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals with a history of self-harm who had experienced an admission to psychiatric hospital. A Reflexive Thematic Analysis was conducted. Participants described their understanding of how their; past-experiences, understandings of their own self-harm, and their emotional and behavioural responses to being unable to self-harm determined their experience of means-restrictions. The ways in which their psychological and emotional experience changed upon means-restrictions are outlined and explored; the ways in which they coped, experienced benefits and support, and how their testimonies positioned self-harm as secondary to the primary problem–emotional distress. Implications for theory and practice are discussed with regards to negotiating the psychological impacts while maintaining safety.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Humans, Adaptation, Psychological, Self-Injurious Behavior, Mental Disorders, Mental Health Services, Qualitative Research, Adult, Middle Aged, Inpatients, Female, Male, Interviews as Topic, Young Adult
Divisions:	Faculty of Health & Life Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Population Health
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	09 May 2025 08:09
Last Modified:	23 May 2026 10:12
DOI:	10.1080/01612840.2025.2492695
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2025.2492695
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3192701
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