Self-harm strategy and action plan: mid-term report

Glossary

CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) - Multi-disciplinary teams that provide (i) assessment and treatment/interventions in the context of emotional, developmental, environmental and social factors for children and young people experiencing significant mental health problems, and (ii) training, consultation, advice and support to professionals working with children, young people and their families.

Care Experienced - Anyone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked after background at any stage of their life, no matter how short, including adopted children who were previously looked after.

COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) - A councillor-led, cross-party organisation who champions councils' vital work to secure the resources and powers they need. They work on councils' behalf to focus on the challenges and opportunities they face, and to engage positively with governments and others on policy, funding and legislation.

Creating Hope Together - Scotland's Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan

DBI (Distress Brief Intervention) - A non-clinical, intervention which can provide timely one to one community-based compassionate and practical support to people who present in distress to frontline services but who do not require urgent clinical intervention.

Discrimination - The inequitable or prejudicial treatment of individuals or groups based on their "stigmatised identities". It can be intentional (explicit prejudice) and unintentional (underlying in organisations and systems/structural).

GIRFE (Getting It Right For Everyone) - A multi-agency approach to health and social care support and services from young adulthood to end of life care. GIRFE is about making support more personal and easier to access when it's needed. It puts the individual at the heart of all decisions that affect them, aiming for the best possible outcomes. This is done through a joined-up, consistent approach across different services, no matter what kind of support is needed or at what stage of life.

GIRFEC (Getting it Right for Every Child) - The national approach used by services across Scotland to improve and uphold the wellbeing of children, young people and families. The Getting it right for every child framework consists of a National Practice Model for assessing wellbeing, key roles which signpost and coordinate support for a child and their family, and a shared approach to planning across services and sectors.

Incidence - The number of episodes of self-harm among a certain group of people during a specific period of time. It is different from prevalence.

Intersectionality - The relationship between social categorisations and/or protected characteristics such as race, class, and gender, and how these social categorisations can create overlapping, interdependent, and interlocking disadvantage.

LGBT+ - Includes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people. While the acronym can vary, the general aim is to inclusively group together marginalised groups of sexual and gender identities.

Lived Experience - People who have a personal knowledge of something which has been gained through first-hand experience. Their experience may be in the past or present, which is sometimes referred to as lived, or living

Local Authority - A local council in Scotland which provides public services such as education, social care and planning.

Marginalised groups - A group of people who have been systematically excluded from full participation in social, economic, political, and cultural life. This marginalisation can occur due to various factors including race, gender, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or immigration status. These communities often face systemic barriers that limit their access to resources, opportunities, and decision-making power.

Marginalisation - A process of social exclusion in which individuals or groups are relegated to the fringes of a society, being denied economic, political, and/or symbolic power and pushed towards being ‘outsiders’

Mental Health - Mental Health is a part of our overall health, alongside our physical health. It is what we experience every day, and like physical health, it ebbs and flows daily. Good mental health means we can realise our full potential and feel safe and secure. It also means we thrive in everyday life.

Mental Illness - Mental Illness is a health condition that affects emotions, thinking and behaviour, which substantially interferes with or limits our life. If left untreated, mental illnesses can significantly impact daily living, including our ability to work, care for family, and relate and interact with others.

Mental Wellbeing - Mental wellbeing is our internal positive view that we are coping well psychologically with the everyday stresses of life and can work productively and fruitfully. We feel happy and live our lives the way we choose

Minority Stress - Minority stress describes the effect of additional stressors experienced by members of minority groups. These experiences can include direct discrimination; societal and structural marginalisation; or the anticipation of experiencing discrimination, and can be compounded by overlapping and intersecting factors. Experiencing minority stress can have significant impacts on both mental and physical health outcomes.

NCISH (National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health) - A project based within the University of Manchester which has collected in-depth information on all suicides in the UK since 1996 and uses this information to make recommendations which aim to improve the safety of patients who may be at risk of suicide and self-harm in mental health settings.

NES (NHS Education Scotland) - An education and training body and a national health board within NHS Scotland responsible for developing and delivering healthcare education and training for the NHS, health and social care sector and other public bodies. NES uses a 4 level training framework that includes:

Informed – For all staff who need a basic awareness of self-harm and mental health issues, including stigma and communication approaches. Skilled – For staff who have regular contact with individuals who self-harm and require practical skills to respond effectively and compassionately. Enhanced – For staff with more frequent or complex interactions, such as those in specialist roles, requiring deeper understanding and intervention strategies. Expert – For professionals in leadership, strategic, or specialist clinical roles who influence service design, policy, and workforce development

Neurodivergent - People whose brain functions differ from what is considered 'neurotypical'. Neurodivergent differences include autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, among others, and are natural variations in human cognition and not necessarily a deficit or disorder. Neurodivergent people may experience the world differently and may have unique ways of thinking, learning and interacting.

NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) - NICE helps practitioners and commissioners get the best care to patients, fast, while ensuring value for the taxpayer.

Online Safety Act (2023) - Introduced new legal duties for online platforms to protect users from illegal and harmful content.

Outcomes - Outcomes are the changes we want to see as a result of taking action. The Self-Harm Outcomes Framework was published in 2024

Peer Practitioner - A person with personal experience of mental health issues who is trained and employed to work in a formalised role in support of others experiencing similar issues, to assist their recovery.

Person-centred approach - An approach that acknowledges that people are experts in their own care and want to be treated as a whole person by professionals, be involved in decisions about their health and care; and be supported to actively manage their own health and wellbeing.

PHS (Public Health Scotland) - Scotland's lead national agency for improving and protecting the health and wellbeing of all of Scotland's people.

Prevalence - How common a given issue or experience is within a population, either at a point in time or over a given period of time (it includes new and existing cases). It is different from incidence.

Prevention - The action of stopping something from happening or arising.

Protective Factors - Individual, social and structural characteristics, circumstances and factors that make it less likely that people will self-harm

Psychosocial Assessment - A comprehensive assessment including an evaluation of the person's needs, safety considerations and vulnerabilities that is designed to identify those personal, psychological, social and environmental factors that might affect someone's mental health and risk of crisis.

Recovery - Being able to live a good life, as defined by you, with or without symptoms.

Risk Factors - Individual, social and structural characteristics, circumstances and factors that make it more likely that people will self-harm.

Safety Plan - A written, prioritised list of coping strategies and/or sources of support that the person who has self-harmed can use to help alleviate a crisis. Components can include recognising warning signs, listing coping strategies, involving friends and family members and contacting mental health services.

Self-harm - Intentional self-poisoning or injury, irrespective of the apparent purpose. See page 7

Severe and enduring mental illness - Includes conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorders, other psychosis, personality disorders and any other mental health disorder (such as severe depression and OCD) of a severe and enduring nature.

Socio-economic - Relates to the differences between groups of people caused by their social and/or financial situation.

Stakeholder - People, groups or organisations that are affected by, or hold an interest in, work or activity of an organisation or service.

Stigma - A social process that involves the damaging labelling, stereotyping, and exclusion of individuals or groups based on perceived differences that deviate from dominant social norms.

The Promise - The Promise is a programme of change demanded by the findings of the Independent Care Review, to ensure that every child in Scotland grows up loved, safe and respected, able to realise their full potential.

Time Space Compassion - A set of principles to deliver better responses to people in suicidal crisis.

Trauma Informed Practice - Being able to recognise when someone may be affected by trauma, collaboratively adjusting how we work to take this into account and responding in a way that does no harm and recognises and supports people’s resilience and recovery.