Cut to the Soul

Why teach about self-harm?

We teach about self-harm because it’s extremely common within vulnerable patient groups in general, and particularly within places of detention. It’s very misunderstood and taboo, especially within certain cultures. So we were both pleased and proud to make self-harm the subject of our very first book.

Unique perspective

Published in 2023, Cut to the Soul approaches the subject of self-harm from an unusual angle - the Christian medical one.

We achieved this by putting a service using author with a medical expert editor. The author, our illustrator Sarah-Louise Bedford, has significant lived-experienced of self-harming. And our chief medical officer Rachael Pickering is a GP with extensive experience of assessing severe mental illness and treating self-harm behind bars.

Extract

I was just nine years old. It was a particularly turbulent period of my childhood. I was confused and distressed. Then one evening, I accidentally injured my foot. It really hurt. Later on, at bedtime, I realised that I was not focusing on the chaos of my emotional pain as much as usual. From that point on, I started to self-harm.

In my naivety I believed that I was the only person to do this. I thought that I had invented a very cunning and imaginative method of coping with emotional distress. What followed was a vicious cycle of behaviour that ensnared and entrapped me in shame for nearly 17 years…

Contents

• Part 1: The pain

  • This girl’s story

  • Self-harm

  • Behind the act

• Part 2: The truth

  • The great news!

  • Self-harm in the Bible

  • Interpreting Bible passages

  • Payment for sin

  • Guilt and shame

  • Held in the fire

  • Grace measured

• Part 3: The care

  • Self-care

  • Friends and family

  • Professionals

• Appendices

  • Prayers from the Bible

  • Alternatives to self-harm

  • Encouragements from the Bible

  • God’s work in your heart

  • Harm reduction

  • Pros and cons list

  • Resources for you and your loved ones

  • Resources for professionals

Foreword

Sharing from her own experiences and insights gained from those she has met in her journey of recovery from self-harm, Sarah Louise Bedford focuses on how God’s good design for our lives can be lived out in the reality of a damaged world that can lead to some people resorting to hurting themselves.

Honest, practical, compassionate, and grounded in a profoundly biblical spirituality, Sarah Louise has written a book for anyone who self-harms, their family, friends, and professional carers, whether they hold a Christian faith or not.

If you are looking for a biblical, Christian book to help you deal with self-harm, then this is for you.

Reading this book helps you recognise our common humanity and acknowledge the different ways we deal with pain. For a book tackling a painful and difficult subject, it is both informative and uplifting.

From the Foreword by Dr Nick Land, Psychiatrist, retired NHS Medical Director, Church of England Reader, and previous Chair of CMF

Review

In her preface, Sarah Louise expresses her hope that this book will be helpful — practically, emotionally, and spiritually. It is!

I do not self-harm, but as a pastor and friend I know those who have and do. I have found Cut to the Soul helpful in my own faith, but also in giving me insight and real help in walking with those who self-harm. Read more…

Buy

Cut to the Soul is available to buy for £10 from our co-publisher, CMF. Sarah-Louise has kindly gifted her royalty payments to us, and we use every penny to create free training resources.

If you would like to read this book but cannot afford to buy it, please email us in confidence. We will try our very best to help.

Additional resources

Coming soon!

Why are you cast down, O my soul, why are you in turmoil within me?
Psalm 42:5-6