A mother and her teenage son gave a rare insight into the trauma of self-harm yesterday.

ALMOST 12,000 people attended hospital emergency departments last year seeking medical help for deliberate self-injury.

A conference on self-injury taking place in Trinity College in Dublin today will look at recommendations for new approaches to treatment.

THE existing state support system for people who self-harm needs to be overhauled as it is too focused on crisis intervention and only allows access to help after they have been referred by non-specialised GPs.

THOUSANDS of people treated for self-inflicted injuries in hospital every year are not getting the support they need.