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

Williams, A. Jess; Nielsen, Emma; Coulson, Neil S.

Authors

A. Jess Williams

Emma Nielsen



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.

Citation

Williams, A. J., Nielsen, E., & Coulson, N. S. (2018). “They aren’t all like that”: perceptions of clinical services, as told by self-harm online communities. Journal of Health Psychology, 135910531878840. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318788403

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 16, 2018
Online Publication Date Jul 19, 2018
Publication Date Jul 19, 2018
Deposit Date Aug 24, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Journal of Health Psychology
Print ISSN 1359-1053
Electronic ISSN 1461-7277
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Pages 135910531878840
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318788403
Keywords Applied Psychology
Publisher URL http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1359105318788403