Young women who self-harm should be allowed to continue as part of their treatment, according to a leading expert.

Controversial “harm minimisation” therapy is being piloted in the North West, even though it contravenes NHS guidelines, which state that preventing further self-harm must be the priority. The therapy even provides some patients with “safe cutting kits”, containing sterile blades and swabs.

Sam Warner, research fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University, is the consultant clinical psychologist behind the treatment. Dr Warner believes that the traditional approach, of removing all harmful objects, placing patients in seclusion and monitoring them, is counterproductive.

By the time self-harmers seek treatment, they are usually very experienced at it, she said. “If you then place them in a highly stressful situation, such as a hospital ward, they will grab whatever they can get their hands on and are likely to do far more damage to themselves. Self-harm is a coping mechanism. The more you try to take away the coping mechanism, the greater the urgency to self-harm,” she said.

She added: “It is not my job to stop them self-harming. It is the goal, but I do not insist upon it.”

Self-harming can be triggered by emotionally distressing events such as bullying or family breakdown. The most common forms are cutting, burning, scratching, hair pulling and swallowing objects or toxic substances. A national inquiry on the subject published last summer found that one in 15 young people self-harm.

Because “harm minimisation” breaks NHS rules, Dr Warner’s methods can be used only in private clinics or the community. But Tim McDougall, a nurse consultant from the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership Trust, said allowing self-harm risked confusing young people, and undermining their confidence that the treatment would work.

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