ShareThisS.A.F.E. Alternatives - Self Abuse Finally Ends
Who We Are
S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® is a nationally recognized treatment
approach, professional network, and educational resource base,
which is committed to helping you and others achieve an end
to self-injurious behavior. Self-injury is known by many names,
including self-abuse, self-mutilation, deliberate self-harm,
parasuicidal behavior, and non-suicidal self-injury.
Contact
S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES®
| Phone: | 800-DONTCUT® 800-366-8288 |
| Fax: | 888-296-7988 |
| Email: | |
| Web: | www.selfinjury.com |
Philosophy
The S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® philosophy begins with the assumption that, although temporarily helpful, self-injurious behavior is ultimately a dangerous and futile coping strategy which interferes with intimacy, productivity and happiness. There is no "safe" or "healthy" amount of self-injury. We also believe that self-injury is not an addiction over which one is powerless for a lifetime, people can and do stop injuring, with the right kinds of help and support. Self-injury can be transformed from a seemingly uncontrollable compulsion to a choice.
The S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® philosophy respects the autonomy and choice-making capacities of the individual. It is not an authoritarian model; we don't believe that helpers can or should take all the responsibility for keeping the self-injurer safe. Ultimately, the self-injurer must be empowered to learn to keep themselves safe. In order to get well, there must be a shift in the locus of responsibility from the helper, to the one being helped. The helping relationship is a partnership, not a "parental" relationship. At S.A.F.E., we try to create a "culture of safety" in which the injurer comes to realize that self-injury destroys relationships, but safety brings people closer to them. We also do not employ infantilizing, restricting methods of behavior control, which reinforce the individual's sense of helplessness and powerlessness.
Our philosophy involves the reliance on words, the context of relationships as the primary means for managing feelings, and gaining self-awareness and self-control. Self-injurers have often learned that feelings must be dealt with through physical actions of some kind. At S.A.F.E., we help patients learn to delay the urge to self-harm, reflect on what they are feeling and choose an alternative mode of coping. We call this process "enlarging the window of opportunity" between the urge to self-injure and the actual act. This window of time "frees up" the self-injurer to try something different.
S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® is a world-renowned treatment program that in it's more than twenty years of operation has helped thousands of people successfully end self-injurious behavior. A treatment team of experts uses therapy, education, and support to empower clients to identify healthier ways to cope with emotional distress. The S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® philosophy and model of treatment focus on shifting control to the client, empowering them to make healthy choices, including the choice to not self-injure. Quality of Life is a Choice.
Archive of News & Updates:
Summer, 2008
Healing from Self-Injury Fundraiser Event
Ruby Lee Productions, Meaningful Media Presented this event on July 20, 2008. Hosted By Amy Brenneman. Proceeds will in part benefit S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® programs. www.perfectionthemovie.com (caution - contents are graphic).
Check out the article published in the Cape Cod Times - "A Journey From Self-Abuse to Self-Love". Dr. Wendy Lader, Ph.D., M.Ed. is quoted in the article.
May, 2008
Comes the Darkness, Comes the Light- by Vanessa Vega is the Silver Winner, 2008 Nautilus Book Awards, Memoir/Personal Growth category. Congratulations to Ms. Vega!
April, 2008
S.A.F.E. Focus™ Would you like to start a self help group for Self Injury? S.A.F.E. Focus™ is a voluntary support group which utilizes guidelines developed by the S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® Program. Follow the links to learn about Leader and Participant manuals. March, 2008
We continue to expand our Store, so please check back for new items. If you're interested in helping support the services we provide, check out our "Partners" link. Any items purchased through one of the many partners listed would help support our work.February, 2008
Cosmopolitan Magazine: Check out the February 2008 issue of COSMOPOLITAN magazine! A former client of S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® shares her struggles and story of recovery from self-injury as she encourages others to seek help.
January, 2008
"Cut: Teens and Self Injury" DVD: Now available. Exploring the largely unspoken issue affecting thousands of young people. Produced and directed by Wendy Schneider. Featuring interviews with Karen Conterio, Shirly Manson, Tiffany Arbuckle Lee, Gina Young and teens sharing experience, artwork and poetry.