Bodies Under Siege: Self-mutilation, Nonsuicidal Self-injury, and Body Modification in Culture and Psychiatry

A quarter century after it was first published, Bodies under Siege remains the classic, authoritative book on self-mutilation. Now in its third edition, this invaluable work is updated throughout with findings from hundreds of new studies, discussions of new models of self-injury, an assessment of the S.A.F.E. (Self Abuse Finally Ends) program, and The Bill of Rights for People Who Self-Harm. Armando R. Favazza’s pioneering work identified a wide range of forces that compel or impel people to mutilate themselves, many of them cultural and societal. This new edition examines the explosive growth in the incidence of self-injurious behaviors and body modification practices. Favazza critically assesses new and significant biological, ethological, social, and psychological findings regarding self-injury; presents current understandings of self-injurious acts from cultural and clinical perspectives; and, places self-mutilation in historical and contemporary context.