Join Us Virtually for Harm-Ed: Understanding Self-Injury Behaviors

May 9th from 10:00AM to 2:00PM

Applications Open from April 21st to May 5th, 2023

Harm:ED – Understanding Self-Injury Behaviors is a virtual, four-hour training designed to raise awareness for individuals and agencies who seek to understand more about self-injury, the reasons underlying self-injury behaviors, addressing stigma, or to improve upon personal and agency responses to those who engage in self-injury behavior. New Beginnings, Inc., with support from the Maine Department of Education, is pleased to offer this training opportunity, and staff of youth-serving agencies and alternative schools are welcome to apply. This is a space to learn, develop, expand, and share. New Beginnings seeks to promote the principles of harm-reduction, respect, understanding, growth, and choice of the individuals we serve.

Self-injury is known as the intentional cause of injury to one’s own body. Sometimes, these actions are triggered by events such as loss of someone close, loss of employment, incarceration, relationship problems, housing instability, or other crises; self-injury is a means of coping with tension or stress. Adults who work with young people who have experienced trauma are often faced with supporting young people who use behaviors like cutting or other forms of self-injury or body modification as a means of coping, which may increase their risk of exposure to or transmission of bloodborne pathogens, including HIV. Often the conversations around self-injury focus on how to change or stop the behavior, yet we rarely have the chance to talk about why, when, and how self-injury shows up. This training will help supportive adults, teachers, and other youth workers learn how to help young people reduce their risk for the transmission of HIV or other bloodborne pathogens, as well as other negative health outcomes associated with self-injury.

Training objectives include, but are not limited to:

• Develop participants knowledge and understanding of what self-injury is and is not
• Have an improved sensitivity and awareness of the needs of people who self-injure
• Consider the relationship between self-injury and suicide
• Understand the prevalence of self-injury across different age groups and genders
• Become familiar with the functions, motivations, and meanings that underlie self-injury behavior
• Develop awareness of helpful harm-reduction responses to individuals who self-injure, including those that reduce the risk of transmitting HIV infection

Do you work with or otherwise mentor a young person who may be interested in learning the skills associated with participating in this training alongside you? Email jwyman@newbeginmaine.org for more info!

This training series is virtual; participation requires access to a device compatible with Zoom software, a stable internet connection, and working speakers, webcam, and microphone. Participants should also be able to successfully navigate the “chat” feature (i.e. working mouse and keyboard).

Certificates of Attendance will be provided upon completion of the training

***Please do not apply unless you can attend the entirety of this training without contacting jwyman@newbeginmaine.org first.**