Children that do this are screaming for attention. Have a look back in her life and see if there was something in particular that made her feel this way. Try asking her why she is harming herself. There is always a reason for this, big or small. You have to get to the bottom of it. Hope this helps. Good luck.

I've been around the trappings of Goth society and I can say that the teenagers nowdays have got it all wrong in most cases.  COnsequently, I dropped out of it cause I was sick of the Emo-age BS.

Cutting and bloodletting used to be a ritualistic thing amoung the more "powerful" in the groups/chapters, but it seems to be becoming a fashionable thing to do for the sake of acceptance.  It's weird, like before you had to be accepted before being allowed to bloodlet, now they do to get accepted.  It's all arse-about.

If your teenager is doing all this because of her Goth friends and peer pressure, it may seem like a mental illness has taken told because she might be expected to behave that way - it's also fashionable now for Goths to have bi-polar and depression.  Previously, we would learn to embrace the power to control these problems.

Goth is supposed to be about embracing the darkness in life and seeing the beauty in it, facing your demons and overcoming them, and accepting that the world isn't some glorified heaven on earth, but it has it's bad sides, and dealing with those bad sides to get the best out of everything; rather than gloss over everything and pretend it's all okay and shine bright lights and pretty colours all over the place and hope to scare away the boogyman by hiding the darkness away from our world.  Now it's just about rebelling and upsetting everyone else around you and making people feel sorry for you, and putting yourself into situations that cause more darkness in your life.  It's all wrong.

Tell your daughter if she wants to stop pretending and talk REAL Goth, she can get on Minti and talk to me.

I agree with Madmel.  If she is continuing to cut, she poses a risk to herself and may need to be hospitalized.  I would suggest finding a clinic or facility that specializes in working with kids who are self-injurous.  It is a complex disorder that requires specialized treatment.  This may require finding a private clinic which can be costly unless you have insurance.  Check to find out what resources or financial assistance programs they have.  Many facilites work on a sliding fee scale based on your family income level.  I'm not surprised to hear that the mental health professionals gave up after a month.  You will need to find a therapist who is skilled in working with teens and self-abusers.  They have to be able to ride out  the silence on the part of the teen.  A diligent and skilled therapist will establish trust with the teen while making it clear that they are in it for the long haul.  Best of luck to you and I hope you let us know how things work out :)

This is so tragic for you and your family to be going through........I think perhaps you may just have to keep persevering until you get some one to help....GO to the AMA and tell them of the way you are being brushed aside threaten to go to the media if something isn't done.I would turn to the media......it usually gets results.Just know we are here for you as your support network hugs  Merle

My younger sister started doing this when she was 14.  She pushed away all her good friends and chose to go to those who didn't care about her and only got her into trouble.  She turned very Goth.  Everything was black. Hair, make up, clothes, nail polish etc.  She turned very nasty towards our younger brother (who was only 10 at that stage) and our mother.  She would leave the house when ever she felt like it and not come back for days on end.  Mum was at her wits end.  Police just classed her as a runaway and couldn't be bothered continually looking for her. (They did the first time, but then she ran away again 2 days later). Mental health said there was nothing wrong with her and that her only problem was lack of disaplin proberly caused by the fact that our mother had separated from her father.  What a load of crap.

With nothing left to lose, my put a lock on her door and window.  The window was left open about 3 inches, but locked securely.  When my sister got home saw the lock on her door she went in to grab a few items to leave and mum locked the door.  Harsh I know, but after a few hours she bagan to settle down.  Mum went around and locked all the doors and windows from the inside and hid the keys and then let my sister out of her room to use the bathroom etc  She was locked inside the house for days with no way to get out.  Eventually she started talking to mum.  The reason behind her goth look and her cutting was because she had been sexually abuse one of her "old friends" relatives.  She made formal complaints to police and this person has since been charged.  She changed the goth look and went back to school and although she finished year 12, she fell so far behind from wagging, that she didn't do very good, but is now considering tafe to get her marks back.

My point is, there may well be an underlying problem that is causing these kids to harm them selves and the others around them and it is up to us to find out what that problem is, even if it means taking drastic action to do so.

Oh, and before I forget, my brother stayed with me, while mum was locked inside the house with my sister, so that he didn't have to witness anything or be harmed.

Tracey

wow sounds like its been tough for you. My sister was cutting when she was that age. She did it because she was abused. Mum tried everything but she continued to do it for a couple of years. She finally stopped off her own back so Im hoping you daughter wakes up and sees its not the way to go.
Have you considered having her admitted? This helped my sister

Mate I really feel for you here.......I have written some advice about my experience with cutting in my son here
Please if mental health would not help you go to a private one....Where I live CYMHS is the good place to go and I have been so lucky with them and thye have helped with alot.......Go back to the police did you actually see a CPIU officer they are police that deal with just Juveniles because I have had a juvenile charged....this is ridiculous......Was it child youth a nd mental health you took her to......if not try them......for her to talk to someone because she needs to but I think without any help from a psychologist or a psychatrist you will struggle to get to the bottom of the cutting.....There is a great Link at the bottom of my page as well to another advice on cutting as well so click there and have a look what deb did......I can give you my support and I really think you need to jump up and down right now cause the police have to charge these girls get onto the bus company as well mate go all the way with this......Start ringing now and ask to speak to a Child PRotection Ivestigation Unit officer and go from there.....I am sorry I can not be much help good luck with this and let us know how you go....Cheers Angie