Self-Harming and Milieu Therapy: Self-Harming Inpatients' Experiences from Psychiatric Units

Research might indicate that strong negative attitudes towards people who self-harm are now an accepted and tolerated component of the professional health culture. The aim of this study was to examine how self-harming inpatients experienced their stay in psychiatric units. Fourteen respondents provided data through open-ended questionnaires. The qualitative text analysis followed the three steps of Corbin and Strauss. The respondents' experiences were related to their perception of how their expectations of caring were met by the staff, and both positive and difficult experiences were narrated. The respondents appreciated accessible staff who offered them commitment and gratification, and situations that generated an inner sense of surprise, well-being and learning. The respondents connected difficult experiences with inaccessible, disregarding and offensive staff, and to situations which generated an inner sense of disappointment, emotional pain and trauma. To develop further understanding about these and other aspects of self-harming inpatients' experiences in psychiatric units, more qualitative research is