Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Message
Review: Bodily Harm gives a strong, but encouraging message: that the self-injurer is not alone in her pain. There are many others like her, and there is help available. The SAFE Alternatives program offers great help and a chance to meet people as a support network. The program and book have both helped me tremendously to cope with self-injury. Thank you so much, Karen and Wendy!
Rating:
Summary: Complete and Very Helpful Book
Review: Having recently gone through the SAFE Alternatives program myself, I can say that this book follows closely the inpatient treatment program and ideas, and would probably be very useful to people who cannot afford the program or who have been denied access to it for whatever reason. I agree with other reviewers who say that the program is presented as a "cure," which I don't quite think it is. What I do think it is, and what this book is, is a wonderful starting point on the road to real self-understanding and ending of self-injury. It's not a cure-all, and it's not guaranteed. I have injured since completing the program, but I have done so far less frequently and far less severely. The urges are less pronounced and I have more tools with which to deal with them. I recommend this book especially to family member of self-injurers as a way to understand the phenomenon, and also to people who are themselves injurers, because it is far less triggering than other books on the same subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Misses its goals. Another ad for S.A.F.E. Alternatives
Review: I expected that Conterio and Lader would have a bias toward their own program, but I've really had enough of their claiming to be the only answer, the only inpatient SI program in the country, etc, etc. I find it sad, since Conterio is obviously dedicated and has done some fine work in the field in the past. I respect her a great deal, and am sorry that this book never really realized its potential.The huge four-part quiz to determine if you are a self-injurer is superfluous -- if you're damaging your body enough to be concerned, then you should consult a trained professional anyway. The only purpose I can think of it serving is to cause people who *don't* SI to worry about wheteher they're suddenly going to start. Conterio and Lader do offer some useful exercises toward the end of the book, but much more helpful exercises can be found in Alderman's _The Scarred Soul_, an excellent self-help book. Also, if ther is a breakthrough in their program, I didn't see what it was. They don't even have success rates for their program; Marsha Linehan's DBT outpatient program has a high demonstrated success rate. This book might be good if you're considering S.A.F.E., but otherwise, you'd do better to invest in Strong's _A Bright Red Scream_ or Alderman's _The Scarred Soul_.
Rating:
Summary: A book worth reading!
Review: I have to say the book is great! 5 stars! But, the actual program is better. I went to SAFE and I have to say that it changed my life, HONESTLY! I read a lot of bad reviews, and some good ones. The bad ones seem to be from people who didn't know what the program was about! Karen and Wendy are the greatest. People say that they make it sound like a cure to come to the program. Well, I didn't get that from their writing, But I know it was a cure for me and MANY others! Please remember that these women devolped this program, which helps thousands of people! Some say they are given too much creit, I say they are not given enough! They are both so kind, so are the rest of the staff their! But Karen and Wendy care so deeply for their clients. No words I can express now will ever compare to that wonderful program. But, please, if you have questions or comments for me, Please, E-mail me. I will be happy to talk to you about it. Thank you for listening to me!
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: I must stress that this is my opinion and my attitude towards self-injury is not exactly standard. My first issue with this book is that it starts out in the same sappy way that most self-injury books and articles do. "You're not alone" "You can stop" "People from all different backgrounds do it" and all that other jazz. None of this is new or helpful. Okay okay, maybe if it was your first time glancing through something that talked about self-injury. Then of course you would be happy to hear that you aren't alone. But come on people, this is the 90s. Self-injury is not something new and while it still lurks in the closet, we all know that it's out there. I didn't like the way it was written. By the end I was very sick of hearing so and so's inspirational words about the S.A.F.E. program. I was annoyed at one of the urge logs in which a female writes "If they (people who had stopped self-injurious behavior) can do it so can I." It was tacky. I will not deny that their program probably works very well. I also will not deny that this book could help people in their quest to stop the self-destructive habit. But it's the people who already want to change. The hard part is really actually wanting to get out of it. Denial and comfort are hard things to kill. My main point about this book is don't expect to find anything particularly insightful that you haven't read a hundred times. In fact, don't waste your time with this book and just surf the web for a bit.
Rating: 
Summary: worth a read, but a bit preachy
Review: I read this book because I've been really interested in the topic lately from a mental health worker's persepctive. Although the authors seem extremely familiar with the phenomenon of self-injury and with the strategies that may help sufferers overcome the behavior, their writing style conveys a certain condescending preachiness. Placing self-injury on a continuum with other body modifications such as piercings and tattoos not only seems false, but is also rather culturally insensitive. Additionally, the main points of the book are stressed fairly early in the text and just keep resurfacing. It may have been better to leave out a few chapters and save some paper. ;) On the plus side, the elements of the SAFE program that they outline sound like very helpful tips for those struggling with self-injury or for their family members. In addition, the case study-like vignettes about patients provided a human touch to the book.
Rating: 
Summary: You can't just read the book and expect a difference
Review: I read this book during and after my stay at SAFE Alternatives. I found it a good reminder of a lot of the philosophy behind the program. Just reading a book about the program is not the same as going through the program itself. A lot of the program relies on the people there, the therapists and the peers. Talking is a big part of it, and a big part of what helped me, and you don't get that from doing the book on your own. Also, you have to make the program your own. Just doing exactly what they tell you doesn't cut it. You have to have the commitment to quit self-injury and to get healthy. The book does sound like an ad. But I think that they wrote the book because they were proud of this program that seems to have helped so many people, myself included. There is no way to make a book with that sort of premise sound like anything but an ad.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD BOOK!
Review: i think this was a really great book. i learned alot from it. the one thing with self help books like this is that you shouldnt read them right when youre feeling like you are cutting. alot of these books share other peoples stories, and in those stories they tell their techniques and really precise steps they took and how they did it. NOT GOOD IF READ WHILE FEELING LIKE CUTTING! but otherwise GREAT BOOK!!! :)
Rating:
Summary: Very informative and helpful
Review: I went to the SAFE program in 1998 and I have been injury free since then. The program changed my life and I originally read the book because I'm one of the case studies. Now I reread it when I'm feeling bad and the part that helps me the most is the reasons that people self injure and how that reasoning is flawed and destructive. I would especially recommend the book for family members and friends of self injurers because it explains a lot and takes away some of mystery around why people engage in these behaviors.
Rating:
Summary: Very informative and helpful
Review: I went to the SAFE program in 1998 and I have been injury free since then. The program changed my life and I originally read the book because I'm one of the case studies. I think the best part is the discussion on why people self injure, and how the reasoning self injurers use is flawed. I would especially recommend the book for family members and friends of self injurers because it explains a lot and takes away some of mystery around why people engage in these behaviors.
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