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Summary: Understanding Self-Mutilation
Review: Steven Levenkron is a psychotherapist, in his book "Cutting," Levenkron explains what self-mutilation is, what 'type' of individual does it and why, and also how individuals can recover. Levenkron defines self-mutilation as: "...a truly gruesome behavior accompanied by cosmetically gruesome results. It is the extreme nature of these external acts of self-harm that causes us to consider them worthy of psychological examination, and urges us to uncover the mental and emotional desperation they suggest."(22-23).
Levenkron clarifies the differences between self-mutilation and societal myths: self-mutilation is not a suicide attempt nor is it apart of group ritual or adolescent trend. The self-mutilator is typically a female who is under intense emotional pain. Levenkron's argument is that no one should fear a person who cuts his or her selves. This behavior is either do to an inherited chemical imbalance, or in most cases, childhood trauma in which parents invoke abuse directly or indirectly: "If a child's experience with her parents is uncomfortable, neglectful, or painful, the child accepts the pain and assumes that her parents' behavior is justified because they must be "right." She has only herself to blame for the fault of failing to adjust to the pain, because the pain must be right." (32).
Levenkron states that "...the self-mutilator is someone who has found that physical pain can be a cure for emotional pain."(45). The self-mutilator is filled with self-hatred, substituting the pain of cutting for the support of family and friends. "The self-mutilator is very sensitive to her emotional pain, but even more than, that, she is despairing of the trustworthiness of others. She prefers to be the one in charge of the pain she experiences and the feeling of numbness it leaves her with."(39).
Levenkron treats self-mutilation as disorder of it-self with classifying it under these diagnostic criteria:
"Recurrent cutting or burning of one's skin.
A sense of tension present immediately before the act is committed.
Relaxation, gratification, pleasant feelings, numbness experienced concomitant with the physical pain.
A sense of shame and fear of social stigma, causing the individual to attempt to hide scars, blood, or other evidence of the acts of self-harm." (25).
To support his argument, Levenkron presents cases of his patients who have this disorder. Each case is extremely emotional, in which the patient describes the mental and emotional pain they have endured and why the have chosen to harm their body.
Patients describe the act of cutting and feeling the pain as a type of "medicine". Levenkron states that "...somehow in the past, pain was somehow connected to the idea of home and comfort."(25). People end up seeking out what is familiar to them and if this is pain that is what they want.
Levenkron psychologically analyzes each case, using bold scientific words to help the reader remember their meaning. To further aid in the understanding of self-mutilation, Levenkron describes the similarities in which anorexia nervosa and bulimia can develop parallel to self-mutilation.
After presenting a variety of cases of self-mutilation, Levenkron explains how individuals can recover from this behavior. He explains in detail the treatments he used with patients that self-mutilate. Levenkron believes that for recovery its important for the patient and therapist to develop a healthy attachment: "If one cannot form trusting attachments, psychological or behavioral disorders, or both, follow. These disorders fill the void left by the lack of interpersonal relationships and serve as replacements for healthy attachments. This is nearly always the case in the personality development of the self-mutilator." (94).
"Cutting," is a well written and organized book. Levenkron's work will surely help many people learn how to understand, cope and overcome this psychologically complex disorder.
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Summary: finally someone understands
Review: Dr. Levenkron knows what goes on inside the cutters head. When reading this, I felt that he was with me. He thoroughly knows the subject well and knows what works for his patients. A must read for those that do cut or those that want to understand and help them.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book.
Review: Wether you're reading this to understand yourself, a friend or family member, or, like me, researching the subject, this book is a fantastic entry into understanding the mental causes of self-mutilation. The author is right about how cutters are viewed. When I told friends I was reading and researching self-mutilations, the conversations changed quickly to the most surface-level benality they could come up with on the spot.Mostly, this book is very informative. I would have liked to hear less case studies (...) and more of the reasons why a person turns to cutting, what psycholocical catalysts there are. If you choose to read this book, be prepared to get odd looks -- you'll be venturing into territory no one like to acknowledge.
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Summary: I'm a self-injurer and this hit very close to home...
Review: It's taken me a long time to read this book. I'm not completely though it yet. It's triggery and slow going, but after I walk away from it each time, I feel like I understand myself a bit better. I also think that once I get through it completely, I'll have an easier time judging if a counselor is appropriate for me or not based on the guidelines listed here. I also feel a lot less alone in the world because of this. I adore this author and am also reading his books on EDs, something else I deal with.
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Summary: Very informative, and helpful for recovering self mutilator!
Review: I myself, am a recovering self mutilator. i also have an interest in Psychology, and found this book to be both informative from a professional view, and from the victims point of view. Whether you are a cutter, someone who know's one, or a professional, there is something in this book for everyone, to help demystify the disorder of self mutilation.
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Summary: I'm sorry I love Levenkron-
Review: I was working on my Masters in Psychology when I was introduced to my first self- mutilator. I had worked in the state mental institute for 3 years, yet had not come across anything like the young girl sitting before me. I was scared, she was my client and none of my supervisors knew how to handle her. However, with a little compassion, patience, a will that would not let me give up on her, and this book, I was able to establish the 'relationship' Levenkron states is necessary for a counselor to establish with a patient. My endeavor was successful and I followed everything he said to do. Now, inspired by him I am working on getting into a doctorate program- my goal- to work with self-mutilators. Levenkron can be a little egocentric, but he is truly a master at what he does. He cares and genuine patient concern is very rare. I admire him tremendously and of all the self-mutilation books I have read, this one is by far the best and was the most helpful. Much thanks and appreciation to Levenkron for sharing his insight.
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Summary: made me feel like a statistic .
Review: i myself have dealt with cutting, i still deal with it everyday, and this book not only made me feel like a statisitc but it also didn't touch a lot of subjects. this book made me want to cut myself while i was reading it. i highly suggest reading another if you are a self-injurier, or if you are just reading about it.
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Summary: Inside the cutter's mind
Review: Last year I was in the hospital for a month. The main therapy was a stack of books, a marker to write with, and the other patients in the psych ward with me. One thing I learned there was that even most doctors, nurses, and mental technicians have no idea why anyone would purposely cut themselves. This book gives a clear view of why someone would do this, giving many comparrisons to those who starve themselves. It has helped me understand even better, and I can only hope that someday the mental health profession will have as clear of an understanding about cutting as this author does.
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Summary: Wow!
Review: This book was one of the first I read on "cutting". I am a cutter and this was so very informative. It is a little hard to understand at times as it is geared it seems more toward the clinical person than the layperson but was a great start.
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Summary: Not the best, but a good book
Review: This was the first book on self-injury that I got. I know that it isn't as good as A Bright Red Scream and Bodies Under Siege, which you must get if you cut or do other SI. This book, however, is a good starter book. It is written by a therapist, Steven Levenkron, who has had to deal with patients who've done self-injury for many years. He describes SI as the Anorexia of this generation. (He's written several books on Anorexia, too.) This book has the basics of the whole SI world and is definitely worth the money you pay for it. So, I recommend all cutters and people who need basic information on self-injury get this book!
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