Professors Kim L. Gratz and Alexander L. Chapman provide a compassionate, science-based approach to understanding self-harm while offering practical, clinically tested strategies for developing healthier alternatives.

Self-harm is a complex behavior that affects millions of people, but it remains widely misunderstood and stigmatized.

In their 2009 book, Freedom from Self-Harm, professors Kim L. Gratz and Alexander L. Chapman offer a compassionate yet science-based approach to understanding and overcoming this challenging behavior.

Drawing from evidence-based treatments like dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), the authors provide a roadmap for those struggling with self-harm to develop healthier ways of coping with emotional distress.

Rather than focusing solely on eliminating the behavior, Gratz and Chapman address underlying causes and the functions that self-harm serves in a person's life.

Gratz is an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and human behavior at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she is director of the DBT clinic.

Chapman is a professor in the department of psychology at Simon Fraser University, a registered psychologist, and the president of the DBT Centre of Vancouver.