boys action self-harm myspace
TRANSCRIPT
approval and informed participant con-
sent), such that the global dataset
about neuropsychological functioning
can truly reflect a wide diversity of
records. Each centre able to participate
in the collaboration by submitting data
can request the entire anonymised
dataset from all centres for local anal-
ysis to address specific research ques-
tions. The site also produces very clear
summary records for each participant
that can be downloaded and printed
locally for discussion with colleagues or
to share with patients.
The Huntercombe Hospitals Group in
the UK has been one of the leading
proponents of the adoption of a stan-
dardised neuropsychological assess-
ment approach for young people with
eating disorders. We have found the
Ravello Profile to be an extremely help-
ful way to promote a common format
for assessment, and as a starting point
for some of the newer approaches to
Cognitive Remediation Therapy devel-
oped by Kate Tchanturia and her col-
leagues at the Institute of Psychiatry,
University of London. The huge advan-
tage of the website is that it enables
participating centres who are not in
close contact with the London-based
research teams to benefit from their
learning and experience through the
online forum; and as such, this is a
model for how international collabora-
tion in mental health research and
practice could harness the power of
the internet in support of the young
people we work with.
Mark Rose
Eating Disorder Service,
Huntercombe Hospitals Group, UK
Boys Action Self-Harm MySpacehttp://www.myspace.com/bashgroupThe BASH MySpace website is an online
support page for boys who self-harm
(the acronym BASH stands for Boys
Action Self-Harm, which is a self-help
and peer support group set up for
young men aged 13–19 who self-harm).
The BASH project aims to build self-
esteem and tackle isolation through
befriending, peer support and other
creative activities. The project itself is
based at the Wish Centre in North West
London, which offers group activities for
young people and �a community of cre-
ative innovators developing new ways of
working and making social change hap-
pen�.The website offers boys and young
men who are not able to join in the
centre activities an opportunity to par-
ticipate and gain support. My first
impression of the website is its unique
focus on self-harm in teenage boys.
Second, it makes rare use of a social
networking page as an interface rather
than a conventional webpage. Initially
the site seems a little confusing, with
lots of clutter and a lack of a clear way
to navigate around the pages. However,
if you are familiar with how MySpace
works it is easy to follow. The demo-
graphic the site is aimed at (teenage
boys) is likely to find the page safe and
familiar. This is important if self-harm-
ers are put off from using more clinical
sites, as these may seem too large a step
to take.
The site works as a profile page that
shows information about BASH, per-
sonal accounts from self-harmers who
have benefited from BASH, links to the
LifeSigns webpage (an excellent site in
its own right), and a wall where �friends�of the site can comment. These
have posts to self-harmers that seem
encouraging and warm. As well as a
place to add messages, the site also
features videos and poetry created by
users.
Young people who self-harm are in-
vited to send a message and a friend
request. Parents/carers and those
interested in learning more about self-
harm recovery can be sent further
information from BASH, but only those
who self-harm can become �friends�of the site. This could be very appeal-
ing to teenagers who are seeking
recovery from self-harm, as discus-
sions and forums can be private and
personal. Young people who are cau-
tious about sharing their problems
may be more likely to use the site,
and then gain the confidence to seek
further help. I did not apply to be a
�friend� as this would be inappropriate
in a site directed at young people, but
I assume that once accepted, more
information/further help is offered from
BASH. This would presumably include
the befriending service the organisation
offers to build self-esteem and aid
recovery.
The site is also very helpful in logging
the number of �friends� who have joined.
Self-harm in boys is especially poorly
documented, so to know that 60-plus
other teenagers share similar problems
could make self-harmers feel less alone.
The assumption would be that those
who use the site are motivated to re-
cover, with many presumably receiving
direct help from BASH. Therefore, teen-
agers who use the site can then meet
and discuss problems, offering each
other positive peer support. Another
attraction of the site is that �friends�can be involved in building the web-
page, by posting comments, links to
useful websites, and advice to others.
This wall is monitored by BASH, so any
unhelpful comments can be deleted.
An obvious criticism of this webpage
is its lack of information for those who
are not prepared to become a �friend�, orif they do not qualify, for example, if
they are a concerned parent. However,
this is not its purpose, and there are
plenty of other highly informative sites
that offer this information. LifeSigns is
signposted, and this offers plentiful
information including how to discuss
self-harm with a GP, and various treat-
ment options. A second criticism of the
site is that the young person�s accounts
could be updated and more could be
added. Finally, the discussion/forum
nature of the webpage is very similar
to many pro self-harm websites I have
reviewed during my research. These can
include sharing negative tips, stories
and pictures. Indeed, the website is not
able to monitor private discussions
between members that could be harm-
ful. However, using the social network-
ing format in a well-monitored
approach could help tackle the negativ-
ity associated with this potentially effec-
tive method of sharing problems.
To conclude, to be able to meet others
who share similar problems and who
are seeking recovery is a success of the
site. It reaches out to a demographic in
which self-harm is rarely documented.
Being on MySpace makes it accessible
and appealing, and its interactive nat-
ure means that young people are more
likely to engage and care about its
contents.
Theresa Jones
Department of Psychology,
University of York
Practitioners’ Toolkit 157