Safe Alternatives

so i filled out something on the safe alternative website and mailed it into them. today i got an email response. i hate to say but, i was a little taken back by how it really doesn't offer any help. it's like an email they send to everyone. i was highly disappointed.

today i found out the job that i interviewed for last week i didn't get. i'm really upset over it. i didn't get the job because i don't drive. ug!

i decided to post the email from the people @ safe alternatives. give me your opinions and tell me what you think about it.

Hello and thank you for contacting S.A.F.E. Alternatives. We received the copy of your self-injury self assessment. It seemed like you answered many of the questions “True”. It took a lot of courage for you to take the test and also to send it to us. We would be happy to discuss this more with you at any time. In the meantime, I’ll include some options below for how to get help. Hopefully one or more of them will be helpful to you.

I'm not sure how old you are, but just in case you need a crisis line to call - for teenagers the 24/7 line is: 877-332-7333 and for adults or anyone - 800-273-TALK (8255).

The first thing I would encourage you to do is to tell another adult this is happening. Find someone you trust - either someone at school - like a counselor, teacher, any adult you trust; or someone at church/temple/religious organization or wherever else you go. You could also tell a parent or guardian, or the parent of one of your friends. Another adult can help you find some support and help that you need. They may know of more resources that you aren't aware of. Find someone you trust and tell them.

There is a referral list of therapists on our website under the heading “referrals”. The referral list is made up of people who have been through training with our co-founders and have asked to be on our list. If there isn’t a therapist on the list nearby, it does not mean there are no therapists in that area who work with self injury, it simply means none have contacted us. In that case, another way to find a therapist who works with self injury would be to go to our website (selfinjury.com) under the referral section where there is a section called "How to find a therapist". Asking the questions listed there would be helpful for finding someone who works well with self-injury.

I would recommend the book "Bodily Harm" by Karen Conterio and Wendy Lader, Ph.D (also available in Spanish –found only on our website -“Daño Corporal” http://store.selfinjury.com/product-p/120.htm ). “Bodily Harm” can be found on our website, in public libraries in the U.S. or large bookstores. It has a lot of helpful information on reasons why people self injure and ways to help someone who injures. It also gives an overview of our intensive treatment program. It would be a good resource to have. Here is a link to the book: http://store.selfinjury.com

Our program is a 30 day intensive treatment program for people who self injure and want to stop. The program just moved out of the previous location, however we are in the process of finding a new location. I'm not sure where that will be at this time. We currently have at least a 60 day waiting list for people wanting to come into the program. The S.A.F.E. program has helped people stop self injuring for 24 years now. People come to the program from all over the US and Canada. The first 15 days of the program are inpatient and the second 15 days are a partial program. During the partial program patients stay overnight at a hotel (the fees for the hotel are separate from any hospital fees), and transportation is provided by the hospital. Patients will go back to the hospital all day, seven days a week, for the final 15 days of the program. For adolescents, the program has a few differences from the above information. To find out more or to make an appointment for a screening, anyone interested would call our information line - 800 DONT CUT. Since this is an information line, you will most likely need to leave a message and we will return your call.

We also have a new manual that can be helpful to schools or other groups. It's entitled “Self-Injury – A Manual for School Professionals” for working with students who self injure. There is a teacher/staff version and also a student workbook. Please check our website for more information. To view the table of contents, please go to our website www.selfinjury.com, under "News and Updates" for December, 2008. http://store.selfinjury.com/product-p/121.htm - is the link to the manual in our store.

There is a Blog on our website you may want to read/join. The site is www.selfinjury.com.

We do our best to keep our blog safe for all users. All posts must be approved and we don’t allow the graphic description of self injury. We work to make the blog a place people can reach out for support and express their feelings in a productive way. There is also a yahoo group for people who self injure and want to stop. You would go to www.yahoo.com and click on "groups" and search for groups - searching for "NoFear SAFE Approved" - (with no space between "No" and "Fear") and that should bring up the group. It's free to join and can be very supportive to people.

We have a manual called “SAFE Focus” for self help/support groups. Leader and participant manuals are currently available. You may find them in our “store” on the website. The manuals are meant to be self explanatory. The group can be lead by another person who is recovering from self injury, however they can also be utilized or even modified (if necessary) to be lead by a therapist.

Hopefully this will answer some of the questions you may have. Keep reaching out for support, it's the best thing you can do to get the help you need.

Sincerely,

Pam