What is the FLASH group? 
The clinician who assessed your young person thought that they might benefit from attending the FLASH group.  This group is for parent/s and carer/s of young people of secondary school age, who are displaying self-harm behaviours. The group aims to reduce experience of stress to a manageable level and explore the following topics:

  • Self-harm and risk-taking behaviour

  • Teen development and implications for relationships and communication

  • The difference between suicide and self-harm: myths, fears and reality

  • Listening skills, praise, and building self-esteem

  • ‘Walking on egg-shells’ and parenting styles

  • Consequences, setting limits, and managing boundaries

  • Looking after yourself as a parent (managing the difficult times) and looking after the family (effect of self-harm on other family members)

What does the group involve? 
You will be part of a group with other parent/s and carer/s with two to three facilitators. The programme consists of ten sessions.

  • You will be encouraged to participate as much as you can in the group. We won’t ask you to share anything that you are not comfortable sharing. We know it can be hard but think of the group as a safe environment to challenge yourself. 
  • You will only be in the group for up to two hours a week, but you will need to practice the techniques and the strategies as much as you can outside the group.    

Where will the group be held? 
The group will be held face-to-face and virtually in some circumstances. 

Group Attendance: 
We would expect you to be able to attend all of the group sessions, however, we appreciate people can be unwell and have circumstances that make it difficult to attend.