Stopping Self-Harm Using Creativity to heal from Self-Injury
Cutting is soothing to those who do it. To others, it's baffling and frightening. Clinicians who work with self-harming clients often feel helpless. It's hard to stop the behavior without a substitute in place.
Cutting can be seen as a "voice on the skin"--a way to express something non-verbal. In that sense, it's creative. That's why creativity is an effective tool for those who self-injure.
This website is based on the book "A Creator's Guide to Stopping Self-Harm" by Maggie Parr, who healed from self-harming. Working with a therapist was crucial--but so was the personal, spiritual, and creative work of self-discovery. Parr turned her experiences into creative exercises that can aid others in their journey to heal from self-injury.
You don't have to be an artist to tap into your creativity--all you need is willingness and a desire to heal.
Learn from a peer...
Who fully recovered from decades of struggling with self-harm.
After finding healing and wholeness in her late forties, Maggie Parr wrote "A Creator's Guide to Stopping Self-Harm." Reception from the book inspired her to create the courses, mediations, and exercises on this website. The advice here is intended as an adjunct to therapy, not a replacement. It stems from Parr's lived experience as a peer, not a therapist. If you or a loved one are struggling with this behavior, you may find help and relief from the information here. But please seek professional help first.
"How can I help?"
Below are links to resources, information, and courses to help those who struggle with self-injury, their loved ones, and clinicians who work with them.
If you are struggling
Get access to exercises and meditations from the book. Learn techniques to calm urges and build new forms of expression. Find hope that you can recover.
If your loved one struggles
Learn more about why your loved one self-injures from someone who recovered from the behavior. Get ideas about how to help them, and to take care of yourself.
If you are a clinician
Get insights from someone who used tp self-injure, and has an experiential knowledge of different therapeutic modalities. Add more techniques to your clinical toolbox.
From the Book
Click on the images below to access various resources mentioned in the book, "A Creator's Guide to Stopping Self-Harm." All paintings by Maggie Parr.
Artwork from the Book
Recorded Visualizations
