I like to know what type of help I can give to her. Money is an option. Her mother does not have any health insurance and her father is not very helpful. I know she needs help but really need to know a starting point. I am very concerned about her continuing to hurt herself or maybe others. When she gets upset she goes to her room and pulls the covers over her head and yells and then bites herself. I can not get her to open up at all. I know she is from a divorce home and has not had a stable home life. Any advice would be great. Thank you.
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Q: I have a neice who bites herself when she thinks she is being critized.
Answers (3)
3/13/09 7:22pm
Hi Joy
I can see where you would want to be of any help that you can with your niece. How old is she? Does she have any developmental delays or other impairments? Does she go to school?
One option may be to get some help through her school through a school counselor.
Another option is to seek help through a mental health clinic which provides free or low cost services. Take a look at this link for help.
One quick suggestion is to find a behavior to replace the existing one she is using. If she is doing this because of stress then another outlet needs to be found other than self harm.
But it seems a qualified therapist is most likely your best bet to get her the help she needs.
Let us know what happens. Thank you for your question.
3/13/09 6:33pm
You should check into therapy/counseling for her. Most will do it on a sliding scale.
Pat
3/16/09 12:20am
Hi Joy,
Sounds like you love your niece very much. Finding professional help would be the best option and Merely Me gave you some wonderful ideas.
Also, not knowing more about her age or situation, it's hard to give any specifics. But I can tell you that I used to do this as an adolescent, except I would scream into my pillow (quieter). I would bite but never draw blood and pound on my thighs where bruises would not be seen. The difference is that nobody knew that I did these things.
One thing which you could do to help your niece is to develop your relationship further. Let her know that she is special and try to spend some quality/special time with her. As I got older, my grandmother did this with me and it really made a difference in how I felt about myself and I didn't act out (on myself) as much.
Hope that helps.
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By Joy— Last Modified: 12/24/10, First Published: 03/13/09
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