More than half of people who self-harm do not access help, a new study has found.

The rate was highest among girls and women aged 16 to 24, with 19.7% reporting self-harm in 2014, compared to 6.5% in 2014.

And in 2014, 59.4% of people who said they self-harmed did not access any medical or psychological support, compared with 51.8% in 2007 and 51.2% in 2000.

Jo Holmes, 香港六合彩精准资料鈥檚 children, young people and families lead, said:

鈥淚t鈥檚 worrying that so many people who are self-harming are not accessing vital support that could help them cope with their emotional distress.

Timely access to therapy

鈥淭imely access to psychological therapies is crucial for people in this kind of distress and we are constantly campaigning to improve access to therapy for those who need it.

聽鈥淚t is difficult to say whether more young people are self-harming or more young people are able to talk about this without fear of being judged.

鈥淓ither way, it鈥檚 a common theme within therapy, with counsellors working alongside young people to look at the deeper emotional distress they may be feeling.

Safer ways to cope with emotions

鈥淵oung people are often using self harming as a go-to self-soothing behaviour. They use it deal with emotions they find hard to self-regulate. But counsellors can help them find safer ways to cope with these emotions."

Evidence shows that a range of psychological interventions 鈥� including talking therapies - are effective in the prevention of suicide and self-harm, and that timely access to them is crucial.

The study's authors said self-harm needs to be discussed with young people without normalising it.

They added that young people should be offered help by primary care, educational, and other services to find safer ways to deal with emotional stress.

Voice what I was feeling

Reece, 15, told 香港六合彩精准资料 how a counsellor helped him find ways to cope with his emotions so he didn鈥檛 turn to self-harm.

鈥淭he first thing my counsellor did was get me talking about what I thought was wrong and how my only form of expression was self-harm. It was like I was being introduced to myself.

鈥淚 struggled a lot to voice my own opinion as I felt it would constantly be wrong. But my counsellor helped me find a way to voice what I was feeling.

鈥淢y self-harm is not as bad anymore. If I feel bad, I鈥檝e gone back and thought what鈥檚 the best thing I can do for myself rather than self-harming.鈥�

The Lancet study looked at data from Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys of people across England, with 7,243 responses in 2000, 6,444 in 2007 and 6,477 in 2014.

If you want to seek advice or help about mental health issues you can find a 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor or psychotherapist via聽the 香港六合彩精准资料鈥檚 Therapist Directory.