An amateur filmmaker has produced a new documentary intended to help educators, mental health professionals, and students learn more about the practice of “cutting among teens.”
In Cut: Teens and Self-Injury, which was created by amateur N.Y. filmmaker Wendy Schneider, in-depth interviews with teen “cutters” explore the ways in which they began to confront, and sometimes overcome, their urge to self-harm.
In addition, the documentary explores the reasons for “cutting,” including using it as a response to feelings of inadequacy and alienation, and the need for control.
Schneider is currently screening her film at colleges nationwide, where one in five students have at one point cut themselves, she says. That number, she predicts, is analogous in middle and high school students.
For information about ordering the DVD documentary or booking a screening, visit Schneider’s Web site. Other self-injury resources and information are also available, including a link to S.A.F.E Alternatives, a nationally recognized treatment approach to self-injury.
