Adolescents usually present emergency department with self-harm behaviors more frequently. Self-harm implies a complex group of behaviors that involve conscious decision to hurt or mutilate oneself without the intention of committing suicide. The article describes the application of strengths perspective in helping youths with self-cutting behavior. According to the article, the disease model emphasizes diagnosis, control, labeling, medication, and manipulation while strengths perspective advocated understanding mindfulness and feelings behind symptoms. Strengths perspectives can greatly help social workers assist adolescents with self-cutting behavior through understanding the feelings and meanings behind symptoms in such patients. Strengths perspective approach values skills, capacity, connection, knowledge, and potential in individuals and communities.
The article highlights the views of social workers and teachers on the group of people who exhibit self-cutting behavior. As a social worker, I agree with the author’s proposition that strengths approach is one of the most effective perspectives in helping clients with various problems, especially mental illness. It becomes clear from the article that strength-based practice in social work takes many forms, including ecological system approach, which emphasizes on the integrity and wholeness, as well as focusing on the experience of the client. Using this approach helps social workers understand, explore and develop confidence in the client to aid in quick recovery. After reading the article, I realized that patients with self-cutting behavior could sometimes receive wrong diagnosis. From the case of Carol as narrated by the author, the school applied a disease orientation diagnosis to intervene in the case.
Adolescent clients with self-cutting behaviors are typically diagnosed as suffering from borderline personality disorder, using disease orientation. This may worsen the case and bring further feelings of frustration and emptiness that can provoke self-cutting behaviors. In my opinion, the author does not consider the efforts of all social workers, especially when he claims that disease-based approach can present social workers with an excellent excuse to regard such clients as mentally ill, and to make psychiatric referrals and medication as the only alternative. I also learnt that labeling a client with self-cutting behavior as a mental patient can aggravate the problem because they may feel angry and frustrated. The article addressed this issue sufficiently, and this can enable future social workers make appropriate diagnosis when dealing with such patients. The case of Carol was not a mental problem, but it resulted from her upbringing. However, the author failed to show how social workers can access the history of clients because some of the clients may not feel comfortable talking about their past.
Social workers should pursue strengths when dealing with persons with self-cutting behavior. This involves treating such people as normal with potentials, capabilities, needs, interests, and cognition. According to the article, social workers should facilitate communication between adolescents and the community and build a supportive environment. I believe the argument presented by the author offers the best way of dealing with clients with self-cutting behavior. Listening to the feelings of clients about their self-cutting behavior sheds more light into their motives and past and aid in helping them. The article achieves its aim of comparing the disease orientation and the strengths perspective in helping adolescents with self-cutting behavior. I believe that strengths perspective offers the best means of helping adolescents with self-cutting behavior as it helps understand the needs and potentials of the clients.
