Elementary School Counselors\u27 Experiences Working With Children Who Self-Harm

Elementary-aged children struggle with low self-esteem, are often impulsive, and struggle to develop appropriate coping skills. As such, many children have begun to experiment with self-harm. Because children spend a great deal of time in school, school counselors are often the first to know that a student has self-harmed. Although school counselors have extensive experience working with students who self-harm, most school counselors indicate a need for more training and implementation of school district policies regarding self-harm. Additionally, current literature focuses on the experiences of middle and high school counselors because self-harm and NSSI are primarily noted in adolescents. In order to close the gap in the literature regarding elementary school counselors and self-harm, this study highlighted the experiences of elementary school counselors and their work with students who self-harm, their experiences with training regarding self-harm, and their experiences with school district policies related to self-harm. These experiences were examined through a nation-wide search and one-on-one interviews with twelve elementary school counselors