Season 2 | Episode 29

What digital interventions exist for addressing nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI)? And do they and peer-support apps help in reducing NSSI urges and behaviors?  What do individuals with lived experience of self-injury say that they look for in app-based technology to address self-injury? In this episode, Dr. Kruzan from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine shares about what her research has revealed and discusses the potential utility of Virtual Reality in the treatment of self-injury and self-harm.

Learn more about Dr. Kruzan and her research at https://www.kayleekruzan.com/, and follow her on Twitter at @KayleeKruzan. Below is some of her research referenced in this episode:

1. Kruzan, K. P., Whitlock, J., & Bazarova, N. N. (2021). Examining the relationship between the use of a mobile peer-support app and self-Injury outcomes: Longitudinal mixed methods study. JMIR Mental Health, 8(1), e21854.

2. Kruzan, K. P., & Whitlock, J. (2022). Digital media, suicide, and self-injury. In J. Nesi, E. H. Telzer, & M. J. Prinstein (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent digital media use and mental health (pp. 338-362). Cambridge University Press.

3. Kruzan, K. P., Mohr, D., & Reddy, M. (2022). How technologies can support self-Injury self-management: Perspectives of young adults with lived experience of nonsuicidal self-injury. Frontiers in Digital Health, 4, 913599.

4. Kruzan, K. P., Bazarova, N. N., & Whitlock (2021). Investigating self-injury support solicitations and responses on a mobile peer support application. Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 5, 1-14.

5. Kruzan, K. P., & Whitlock, J. L. (in press). Digital interventions for nonsuicidal self-injury. In E. E. Lloyd-Richardson, I. Baetens & J. Whitlock (Eds.), The handbook of nonsuicidal self-injury. Oxford University Press.

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated #5 by Feedspot in their "Best 20 Clinical Psychology Podcasts" and by Welp Magazine in their "20 Best Injury Podcasts."