Understanding and Overcoming Self-Mutilation

Written for the self-mutilator, parents, friends, and therapists, Levenkron explains why the disorder manifests in self-harming behaviors and, most of all, describes how the self-mutilator can be helped.

"With many examples from his practice, Levenkron provides clear and comprehensive information on the causes and effective treatments of this mysterious disorder, specific advice for therapists, and an encouraging sense of hope for patients and their families." — Publishers Weekly

"Cutting casts an eye on the emotional pains behind a dark adolescent practice." — Salon

• National radio and television interviews
• Featured on the Family Channel and Fox News Channel
• Off-the-book-page features
• Author lectures

Steven Levenkron is a psychotherapist in private practice. He is the author of the best-selling The Best Little Girl in the World, a novel that illuminates the nature of anorexia nervosa and bulimia, and most recently, The Luckiest Girl in the World, a novel about a self-mutilator.

Just looking at Katie Roskova, you?d think she had it all: she was pretty, popular, an A-student at an exclusive private school, and on her way to becoming a champion figure skater. But there was another Katie?the one she hid from the world?who was having trouble dealing with the mounting pressures of her young life. And it was this Katie who, with no other means of expression available to her, reacted to her overbearing mother, her absent father, her unforgiving schedule, and her oblivious classmates by turning her self-doubt into self-hatred. And into self-mutilation. In his previous novel, The Best Little Girl in the World, Steven Levenkron brought insight, expertise, and sensitivity to the painful subject of anorexia nervosa. Now he applies these same talents to demystifying a condition that is just as heartbreaking, and becoming more common everyday. Through his depiction of Katie?s self-mutilating behavior?she is called "a cutter" by her peers?and her triumphant road to recovery, he offers a compelling profile of a young girl in trouble, and much-needed hope to the growing numbers who suffer from this shocking syndrome.

Running fifteen miles a day without being in training . . . taking two-hour showers and constantly changing clothes . . . working twelve hours a day, six days a week . . . these are obsessive-compulsive disorders. Now a world-renowned psychotherapist explains what they are, how they come about, and what can be done about them.

From the psychotherapist who offered groundbreaking work on self-mutilation (Cutting) comes a landmark examination of the psychology of sexual abuse. Stolen Tomorrows encourages the 20 percent of women who have been abused to think about, talk about, and seek help for what has been their secret shame. In addition to giving therapists and other helpers an empathic insight, Stolen Tomorrows will enable the survivor to recognize herself in both her personal history and her current struggle to overcome the legacy of abuse.