Time to take self-harm in young people seriously

Self-harm and suicide research are currently having a serious moment. At no time in the past 20 years has there been such policy and public interest in self-harm and suicide, at least in the UK. We have a Minister for Suicide Prevention, money has been allocated specifically to suicide prevention efforts, and self-harm prevention has been included as a priority in the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England.1 Thus, the excellent study in The Lancet Psychiatry by Becky Mars and colleagues2 on predicting suicide attempts in young people who have had previous suicidal thoughts or non-suicidal self-harm is extremely welcome and timely.