Psychiatry
Single Session of Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBP) can help First-Time Self-Harmers
By Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK
Mar 18, 2005, 16:02

A single session of solution focused brief therapy (SFBP) can improve the outcome for people who have self-harmed for the first time, according to a new study.

Even brief interventions for deliberate self-harm are hampered by low levels of patient engagement in follow-up. SFBT appears to be well suited to the psychosocial difficulties that underlie much self-harm, and can be delivered in a single session.

Participants in the study were patients aged 18-65 who attended the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough with their first episode of deliberate self-harm.

A psychosocial assessment was completed in combination with a single session of SFBT. The primary outcome measure of the study was whether or not the patient returned to hospital as a result of self-harm within a year.

32 people took part: 17 women and 15 men, both with an average age in their mid-thirties. 88% had taken overdoses.

It was found that only 6% of those receiving SFBT had repeated deliberate self-harm within a year, compared with 13% of the total group attending hospital with first-time self-harm in the study period.

The researchers conclude that single session SFBT is a feasible intervention for first-time deliberate self-harm that can be incorporated into a psychosocial assessment session and does not appear to worsen outcome.

Future research in the form of randomised controlled trials should assess the efficacy of this type of approach, and indicate its place in complementing existing brief therapy interventions.

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