Expert warns of rising suicide, self-mutilation rates

By Jomay Steen, Journal staff | Sunday, October 14, 2007

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A growing trend in self-mutilation and suicide by troubled children and teenagers has brought an expert in the field to Rapid City.

Under the theme “Returning to the Center: Sharing the Vision,” the He Sapa Behavioral Health Team has invited Mark Hirschfeld to speak to the community at the 20th Annual Behavioral Health Conference. Hirschfeld, an author and licensed clinical social worker from Washington, D.C., will present a free public lecture on “Self-Mutilation and Suicide” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel in Rapid City.

Hirschfeld’s presentation will include background about the current rise in self-mutilations occurring in school systems throughout the United States and the ages it often begins. He will also talk about suicide, the high number of occurrences in the Native American community and warning signs.

“We all need to be aware of the signs, and not cower away from asking them (youths) how they feel and what they’re thinking about,” Hirschfeld said last week over the telephone from his office in Washington, D.C.

Hirschfeld plans to talk to community health workers, educators, employees, families, neighbors and friends about being more proactive in dealing with suicide. He also wants to talk about self-harm and self-mutilations, an issue he says is on the rise in communities throughout the United States, including South Dakota.

“It’s a rising concern in communities, and it is increasingly observed by officials in our school systems,” he said.

Children as young as 11 to 12 years old are part of this wave of self-mutilation. Their numbers are growing. More and more schools will need to deal with this issue, and many officials don’t know what to do, he said.

“They’re not only individually cutting, but also mutilating in groups, as in cliques,” Hirschfeld said.

He compared it to a club as a form of identification.

“It’s their way of finding a connection with peers and how to fit in,” he said.

Hirschfeld warned that self-mutilation is not comparable to tattooing or body piercing, which can be a form of identification and to some extent an art form.

Also, this is not typical prepubescent angst, he said. People who repetitively cut their legs, arms or torso, do so because of alienation from families, as a way of expressing their internal feelings about sexual abuse or molestation, and as an emotional release.

“You’ll find this with adults, too,” Hirschfeld said.

Adolescents and young adults may stop self-mutilating, but go back to cutting years later, he said.

“This is their way of expressing the pain that they can’t feel,” Hirschfeld said.

The conference is sponsored by the health team, Sioux San Hospital and Mountain Plains Health Consortium. It has always been important for conference organizers to extend outreach into the community of Rapid City, according to Larry Prairie Chicken, conference organizer.

“These issues know no age, socioeconomic or racial barriers. Everyone benefits by coming to these presentations,” he said.

According to Prairie Chicken, the theme was chosen by the He Sapa Behavioral Health Team to represent the final sponsorship of the annual health conference, which through the years provided community presentations about alcoholism, addiction, recovery, sobriety and wellness.

“Like the phoenix, it will have to rise under a different program. As it is now, the conference will end this year,” Prairie Chicken said.

If you go

What: The 20th Annual Behavioral Health Conference Community Presentation

Who: Mark Hirschfeld presenting “Self-Mutilation and Suicide”

When: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19

Where: Washington Room at Best Western Ramkota Hotel on 2111 N. La Crosse St.

Admission: Free