09/17/2026
For pediatricians, school counselors, and colleagues working with adolescents:
Self-harm is often disclosed in pieces—to a counselor, nurse, coach, teacher, pediatrician, or another trusted adult.
When it is, two things matter:
Take it seriously without assuming what it means.
Self-harm can be a way of coping with overwhelming emotions. It doesn’t automatically indicate suicidal intent, but it is associated with increased su***de risk and warrants appropriate assessment.
How we respond matters. Shame, alarm, or dismissing it as “attention-seeking” can shut down the conversation.
And remember: effective treatment exists.
DBT-based approaches can help adolescents build skills for distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and responding differently when emotions become overwhelming.
Infinite Potential provides DBT-informed care for adolescents and adults, and we can often accommodate urgent, non-emergency referrals quickly.
𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁? 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆. 𝗪𝗲’𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.
𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆/𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟵𝟴𝟴.
