“They aren’t all like that”: perceptions of clinical services, as told by self-harm online communities

Williams, A. Jess, Nielsen, Emma and Coulson, Neil S. (2018) “They aren’t all like that”: perceptions of clinical services, as told by self-harm online communities. Journal of Health Psychology . ISSN 1461-7277

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Abstract

Self-harm is a critical public health issue, with strikingly low rates of attendance to clinical services. By offering support, anonymity, and open discussions, online communities hold useful insights into the factors which influence help-seeking behavior. We explore the perceptions of clinical services in three self-harm online communities to understand which services are being used and why. Message threads from each community were extracted randomly until saturation, providing 513 messages across 60 threads. A thematic analysis was performed resulting in four key themes: access to appropriate services during an episode of self-harm, service preference, fears surrounding disclosure, and support.

Item Type: Article
Keywords: Clinical services; Internet; Online communities; Self-harm; Thematic analysis
Schools/Departments: University of Nottingham, UK > Faculty of Science > School of Psychology
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318788403
Depositing User: Eprints, Support
Date Deposited: 19 Sep 2018 14:52
Last Modified: 19 Sep 2018 14:52
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/55058

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