Patients who deliberately self-harm and cause skin and tissue trauma are increasing in number across primary and secondary care settings (Nice, 2011b). Self-harm has often been considered a taboo subject and an unnecessary burden to the NHS (Kilroy-Findley and Bateman, 2016). Despite the growing need for effective care, services for assessment, diagnosis and intervention are often overstretched and unable to meet the holistic needs of patients who self-harm (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], 2011a; Mind, 2013).
