Preventing Suicide & Self-Harm

Meagan N. Houston, Ph.D. S.A.P, has been helping to save lives for over a decade with her work in private practice, federal prisons, skilled nursing facilities, college counseling centers, and law enforcement. Dr. Houston is employed by the Houston Police Department Psychological Services Division and maintains a part-time private practice in Houston, Texas. She also provides consultation and training to various agencies across the country on suicidal behavior, suicide risk assessment, self-harm behaviors, social media, and contagion. Dr. Houston has recently published a comprehensive, practical and user-friendly workbook for mental health professionals titled: Treating Suicidal Clients and Self-Harm Behaviors: Assessments, Worksheets, and Guides for Interventions and Long-Term Care. 

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and many individuals who attempt suicide, typically, have a diagnosable mental health condition. Self-Harm has been defined as the act of deliberately harming your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself. It's typically not meant as a suicide attempt. Rather, this type of self-injury is a destructive way to manage emotional pain, intense anger and frustration. It is also known as Non-Suicidal Self Injury (NSSI) and while life-threatening injuries are typically not intended, when one engages in self-injurious behaviors there comes the possibility of more-serious and possibly fatal self-aggressive actions. Both suicidal ideation and self-harm behaviors are highly responsive to appropriate therapeutic interventions and support.