Self-harm by 11 yo

[grannijenni]

A new person came into chat a few days ago with a problem he can't solve and is getting worse

He lives in Maine, Mass., and he has an OCD 11yo girl who self-harms. She has been OCD since she was 6. She pinches herself, punches herself, and runs into traffic.
I don't think she is cutting, but she is generally getting worse.

The father feels the medical system has let him down, but he is also afraid of the "system" taking over and hospitalising his daughter. He spoke to a psychiatrist who told him there wasn't much they could do unless she tried to commit suicide.

I feel totally unqualified to help him; but I am sure there are a lot of you who can.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.




Jenni :(

[petal]

Dear Grannijenni :)

What a shocking story. The father must be so worried about his daughter.

The only thing I can suggest is that the child sees a specialist child psychologist ... and regularly sees them as it sounds like the problem is really bad. This will be expensive but it is really the only thing to do.

If he takes his daughter to see a private child psychologist, he is outside the government (public health) system and his child would not be taken away and hospitalised.

A problem like this definitely needs professional assistance and fast before the problem gets any worse.

I think that a child psychologist would be much more helpful than a psychiatrist really.

What a troubling story. So sad.

It's very kind of you to try and help this distressed father out.

Wishing them all the best
Petal http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/tiere/animal-smiley-027.gif