Who cares for the carer: the impact of supporting those who self-harm on professional carers.

Abstract

Self-harm is a serious health issue in the UK. One of the most vulnerable populations for self-harm is thought to be young people who are removed from their families and live in group home settings. There is existing literature about the effects and attitudes of medical professionals who care for those who self-harm, however very little that looks at self-harm from the prospective of residential care workers. From ten semi-structured interviews with residential care workers, analysed with Thematic Analysis, similar attitudes that have been reflected in recent studies with medical professionals were reflected in the residential care worker’s accounts. Participants felt it is necessary for better and more robust self-harm training for staff, and more available and structured organisational and colleague support. Additionally, over time, the care workers became accustomed to the behaviours, with some becoming emotionally disconnected from the care they provided. The study explores the previously unheard voices of the residential care workers and highlights the need to provide better support for residential care workers.