Scarred: more teens trying to cut away the pain

The Patriot Ledger
Anne Trafton
May 4, 2004

An increasing number of teenagers are showing the self-destructive behavior of cutting themselves as a way of dealing with emotional trauma or anxiety. Psychologists recommend treatment in which the teenager is given back her self-worth and can counter her feelings of worthlessness with constructive coping. "They become pretty convinced that (cutting) is the only thing they know how to do," says Meg Striepe, a psychologist at the Wellesley Centers for Women. "If you threaten to take that away, it can become terrifying."

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