Deliberate self-harm does not have its own diagnosis, but is recognized more as a symptom of an underlying mental disorder. It is impossible to treat the behaviour without treating the underlying cause first, whether it be a feeling or a form of mental illness.

Many professionals believe that deliberate self-harm is associated with borderline personality disorder and clinical depression therefore the focus of treatment is resolving those disorders, not just stopping the individual from injuring.

Cognitive behavioural therapy

This is a long-term coaching way of aiding individuals who self-harm by modifying cognitions, assumptions, beliefs and behaviours, with the aim of influencing disturbed emotions that cause this type of behaviour. Cognitive behavioural therapy often includes keeping a journal of significant events and associated feelings, thoughts and behaviours. These are then evaluated and divided into unhelpful and unrealistic feelings and thoughts and healthy, productive thoughts. Relaxation and distraction techniques are also commonly included into coginitive behavioural therapy. The objective is to eventually over time eliminate thoughts that are harmful to the person and replace these thoughts with rational outcomes.

Dialectical behavioural therapy

This type of therapy allows the individual to learn to use specific skills that are broken down into four modules: core mindfulness skills, emotion regulation skills, interpersonal effectiveness skills and distress tolerance skills. These skills are attained through gradual dissection of problems starting with the most crucial and working their way down the importance list.

Journaling

Journaling is a way of expressing oneself through words instead of causing pain and harm to oneself. Writing down feelings and thoughts is an important way of realizing these thoughts and giving oneself a chance to deal with them without harming oneself.