Therapeutic assessment based on cognitive–analytic therapy for young people presenting with self-harm: pilot study

Aims and Method Adolescents presenting with self-harm have poor adherence to community follow-up. Poor adherence is a principal obstacle to treatment delivery and is associated with poor psychosocial outcomes. Therapeutic assessment is a novel method of assessing adolescents with self-harm. We compared therapeutic assessment with assessment as usual in a pilot study of 38 adolescents referred for psychosocial assessment following self-harm. Results Significantly more adolescents assessed with therapeutic assessment than with usual assessment attended the first community follow-up appointment (75% v . 40%, χ 2 =3.89, P < 0.05) and engaged with services (62% v . 30% χ 2 =4.49, P < 0.05). Clinical Implications Young people assessed using therapeutic assessment may be more likely to engage with community follow-up. A therapeutic intervention at the time of the initial assessment might be necessary to enable future therapeutic work.