Interrogating nonsuicidal self-injury disorder through a feminist psychiatric disability theory framework

This article explores the proposed psychiatric diagnostic category of nonsuicidal self-injury disorder (NSSID) through the lens of feminist psychiatric disability theory. Mobilising insights from labelling theory's accounts of stigma and recovery, in conjunction with critical and feminist disability theory's attention to emotional and physical pain, we suggest that a feminist psychiatric disability approach to NSSID can illuminate the limits of a fully demedicalised engagement with self-injury. While remaining critical of psychiatrisation processes, we explore the implications of 'strategic (dis)identifications' with illness labels as mechanisms through which to manage and access care, treatment and recovery. Such a nuanced account engenders more deeply material considerations of pain, stigma, treatment and 'cure' at the site of NSSID, opening new avenues of engagement with self-injury for sociologists and critical disability scholars alike.

Automated summary

This article examines the proposed psychiatric diagnostic category of nonsuicidal self-injury disorder (NSSID) from the perspective of feminist psychiatric disability theory. It argues that a feminist psychiatric disability approach can shed light on the limitations of a completely demedicalized understanding of self-injury. The article also explores the implications of strategic identifications with illness labels for managing and accessing care, treatment, and recovery.