Bleeding to Ease the Pain

The book contains information that may be extremely valuable to parents. The author addresses directly the issue that parents may feel responsibility or guilt for their child's DSH. This is accomplished through the provision of succinct quotations from both teenagers and parents. This helps parents realize they are not alone in these circumstances, normalizes their reactions, and provides hope for the future .... Plante's Bleeding to Ease the Pain provides clinicians and nonclinicians important information to begin advancement in this area....[a] novel approach to understanding and treating adolescents by adopting a developmental approach that emphasizes their relationship with their parents. * PsycCRITIQUES *
There is a growing epidemic of young people resorting to cutting themselves in order to cope with the pain and turmoil of life changes, says Plante. She explores the reasons behind such painful and damaging acts in adolescents, and offers both a philosophy and a methodology for effective intervention. Her topics include teenagers most at risk, developmental challenges, professional treatment, neurochemistry, how parents can help, responsibilities of the adolescent in treatment, and de-pathologizing the problem. * Scitech Book News *
Plante does a comprehensive job of explaining the many variables and factors to consider when assessing and intervening with adolescents who self-injure. She frames self-injurious behavior within the complex developmental conflict of adolescence, a time when the need for independence and connection are most salient. Plante provides case studies and practical suggestions that are useful for parents and mental health providers on how to intervene and provide support.... Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates, first-year graduate students, practitioners, and parents of adolescents. * CHOICE *
Adolescents and their families are traumatized by a teen's bleeding to relieve emotional pain. Bleeding to Ease the Pain offers a thoughtful, compassionate, and developmentally and socio-culturally-informed approach to understanding adolescents who engage in cutting and self injury. Invaluable advice and guidance is offered to these adolescents and their families so that they can receive the best care possible. Through compelling and poignant case vignettes, Plante provides hope and a sense of empowerment to those whose lives are impacted by adolescent self-injury. She presents an impressive roadmap for mental health professionals to guide them in effectively helping these teens and their families develop adaptive ways to cope with stress and distress. -- Nadine J. Kaslow, PhD, Emory University
It is rare to encounter a work on an important topic that would be of interest to clinicians, patients and their families, and to the general public. Books aimed at the latter often tend to sensationalize their subject matter, and books aimed at patients and their families tend to be dumbed down to an almost embarrassing extent, rendering them useless to the clinician. But Plante achieves this seemingly impossible balance in Bleeding to Ease the Pain and has produced a work that I would recommend strongly to colleagues, patients, and anyone concerned about the lives of today's adolescents ....A concise, excellent introduction to adolescent cutting from a clinician's perspective. Valuable for clinicians, patients, parents, and the interested general reader. * Metapsychology Online *