A Guide to Whole-School
Strategies and Practical Support
POOKY KNIGHTSMITH
FOREWORD BY SARAH BRENNAN
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
First published in 2015
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
73 Collier Street
London N1 9BE, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Copyright © Pooky Knightsmith 2015
Foreword copyright © Sarah Brennan 2015
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 84905 584 0
eISBN 978 1 78450 031 3
For Terry Knight, the world’s best
grandfather and mentor, with thanks
Contents
1.Introduction to Eating Disorders and Self-Harm
2.Overcoming Stigma and Exploring Common Misconceptions
3.Teaching Students about Self-Harm and Eating Disorders
4.Why Students Develop Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
5.Factors that Put Students at Risk of Eating Disorders and Self-Harm
6.Early Symptoms of Eating Disorders and Self-Harm
7.Talking to Students Causing Concern
8.Responding to Disclosures and Self-Harm Incidents
10.When and How to Refer a Student for Specialized Support
11.Supporting Students Who Require Inpatient Care
12.Day-to-Day Strategies for Supporting Recovery at School
14.Providing One-to-One Support
15.Motivational Interviewing as a Tool for Behaviour Change
Foreword
For the first time, here we have a straight-talking, easy-to-understand guide for anyone working or living with children and young people to understand mental health conditions. Professionals and families outside of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health field have for too long felt unskilled, unconfident and ignorant of basic facts about some of the most common emotional and mental health problems young people experience. There is a taboo about self-harm and eating disorders – YoungMinds found that even GPs find self-harm the most difficult subject to broach with teenagers.
So, this book is breaking new ground. Pooky has successfully drawn together a combination of technical and comprehensive information, which is described in such a way that all of us can understand and relate to it. I have no doubt that all staff in schools will find this book illuminating, but I believe a much broader audience will find it very helpful too.
This is a book that will be returned to many times by its readers, for reference, out of interest or for practical help – and it will continue to be of help to all of us.
Sarah Brennan
Chief Executive, YoungMinds
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgement of funding
This book draws on independent research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research scheme (RP-PG-0606-1043). The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.
Personal acknowledgements
This book is based largely on research I carried out whilst completing my PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. As such I would like to thank my supervisors, Professors Ulrike Schmidt and Janet Treasure, for their sizeable input into this work. I would also like to thank the many students and staff who have been brave enough and kind enough to share their experiences of self-harm and eating disorders with me during the course of my research over the past seven years. You will find them quoted throughout this book.
A huge thank you also needs to be extended to the many colleagues who viewed early drafts of this book and offered constructive feedback, innovative suggestions and words of encouragement when they were most needed. Particular thanks go to:
•Becci Hayward, Counsellor, The Guildford Institute
•Claire Corfield,