Impact Review 2025/26: Self-harm Matters HIT

New co-directors

The HIT welcomed two new co-directors during the year:

• Marina O’Brien, Second Step
• Helen Yeo, Mental Health Programme Lead for Young People at North Somerset Council

Their expertise and leadership strengthen the HIT’s ability to connect research, policy and practice across the region.

Research

University of Bristol researcher Dr Bushra Farooq has worked with the HIT to investigate how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) affect young people’s mental health outcomes, including self-harm and depression.

Her research found that exposure to ACEs over time can increase the risk of self-harm and depression during adolescence and early adulthood. The findings highlight the importance of providing support early in life and throughout childhood to reduce the long-term impact of adverse experiences.

With support from the HIT, Bushra published two research papers:

• The association between longitudinal patterns of adverse childhood experiences, and self-harm and depression in adolescence and early adulthood: findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
• Longitudinal Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences and ‘NEET’ (Not in Education, Employment or Training) Status in Young Adulthood

Self-Harm Technical Briefing

The HIT’s Self-Harm Technical Briefing, available on the ICB website, highlights the unmet needs of people who self-harm in community settings and provides evidence to inform improvements in support and services.

The briefing is already being used to raise awareness and influence discussions. For example, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) referenced the briefing during a meeting with House of Commons Library researchers to highlight the vulnerability of young people who self-harm and the links between self-harm and ongoing mental health challenges.

This work has also demonstrated the HIT’s growing role in supporting knowledge exchange between researchers, policymakers, practitioners and people with lived experience.

Public contributor progress

Public contributors Chrissy and Carl have played an important role in delivering Trauma-Informed Training with Second Step, using their lived experience to inform and support learning.

They have also helped raise awareness among those involved in health and care research across BNSSG. Feedback from training participants has highlighted the value of hearing directly from people with experience of mental illness and trauma, helping researchers better understand individuals’ needs rather than relying on assumptions.