approval and informed participant con-

sent), such that the global dataset

about neuropsychological functioning

can truly reflect a wide diversity of

records. Each centre able to participate

in the collaboration by submitting data

can request the entire anonymised

dataset from all centres for local anal-

ysis to address specific research ques-

tions. The site also produces very clear

summary records for each participant

that can be downloaded and printed

locally for discussion with colleagues or

to share with patients.

The Huntercombe Hospitals Group in

the UK has been one of the leading

proponents of the adoption of a stan-

dardised neuropsychological assess-

ment approach for young people with

eating disorders. We have found the

Ravello Profile to be an extremely help-

ful way to promote a common format

for assessment, and as a starting point

for some of the newer approaches to

Cognitive Remediation Therapy devel-

oped by Kate Tchanturia and her col-

leagues at the Institute of Psychiatry,

University of London. The huge advan-

tage of the website is that it enables

participating centres who are not in

close contact with the London-based

research teams to benefit from their

learning and experience through the

online forum; and as such, this is a

model for how international collabora-

tion in mental health research and

practice could harness the power of

the internet in support of the young

people we work with.

Mark Rose

Eating Disorder Service,

Huntercombe Hospitals Group, UK

Boys Action Self-Harm MySpacehttp://www.myspace.com/bashgroupThe BASH MySpace website is an online

support page for boys who self-harm

(the acronym BASH stands for Boys

Action Self-Harm, which is a self-help

and peer support group set up for

young men aged 13–19 who self-harm).

The BASH project aims to build self-

esteem and tackle isolation through

befriending, peer support and other

creative activities. The project itself is

based at the Wish Centre in North West

London, which offers group activities for

young people and �a community of cre-

ative innovators developing new ways of

working and making social change hap-

pen�.The website offers boys and young

men who are not able to join in the

centre activities an opportunity to par-

ticipate and gain support. My first

impression of the website is its unique

focus on self-harm in teenage boys.

Second, it makes rare use of a social

networking page as an interface rather

than a conventional webpage. Initially

the site seems a little confusing, with

lots of clutter and a lack of a clear way

to navigate around the pages. However,

if you are familiar with how MySpace

works it is easy to follow. The demo-

graphic the site is aimed at (teenage

boys) is likely to find the page safe and

familiar. This is important if self-harm-

ers are put off from using more clinical

sites, as these may seem too large a step

to take.

The site works as a profile page that

shows information about BASH, per-

sonal accounts from self-harmers who

have benefited from BASH, links to the

LifeSigns webpage (an excellent site in

its own right), and a wall where �friends�of the site can comment. These

have posts to self-harmers that seem

encouraging and warm. As well as a

place to add messages, the site also

features videos and poetry created by

users.

Young people who self-harm are in-

vited to send a message and a friend

request. Parents/carers and those

interested in learning more about self-

harm recovery can be sent further

information from BASH, but only those

who self-harm can become �friends�of the site. This could be very appeal-

ing to teenagers who are seeking

recovery from self-harm, as discus-

sions and forums can be private and

personal. Young people who are cau-

tious about sharing their problems

may be more likely to use the site,

and then gain the confidence to seek

further help. I did not apply to be a

�friend� as this would be inappropriate

in a site directed at young people, but

I assume that once accepted, more

information/further help is offered from

BASH. This would presumably include

the befriending service the organisation

offers to build self-esteem and aid

recovery.

The site is also very helpful in logging

the number of �friends� who have joined.

Self-harm in boys is especially poorly

documented, so to know that 60-plus

other teenagers share similar problems

could make self-harmers feel less alone.

The assumption would be that those

who use the site are motivated to re-

cover, with many presumably receiving

direct help from BASH. Therefore, teen-

agers who use the site can then meet

and discuss problems, offering each

other positive peer support. Another

attraction of the site is that �friends�can be involved in building the web-

page, by posting comments, links to

useful websites, and advice to others.

This wall is monitored by BASH, so any

unhelpful comments can be deleted.

An obvious criticism of this webpage

is its lack of information for those who

are not prepared to become a �friend�, orif they do not qualify, for example, if

they are a concerned parent. However,

this is not its purpose, and there are

plenty of other highly informative sites

that offer this information. LifeSigns is

signposted, and this offers plentiful

information including how to discuss

self-harm with a GP, and various treat-

ment options. A second criticism of the

site is that the young person�s accounts

could be updated and more could be

added. Finally, the discussion/forum

nature of the webpage is very similar

to many pro self-harm websites I have

reviewed during my research. These can

include sharing negative tips, stories

and pictures. Indeed, the website is not

able to monitor private discussions

between members that could be harm-

ful. However, using the social network-

ing format in a well-monitored

approach could help tackle the negativ-

ity associated with this potentially effec-

tive method of sharing problems.

To conclude, to be able to meet others

who share similar problems and who

are seeking recovery is a success of the

site. It reaches out to a demographic in

which self-harm is rarely documented.

Being on MySpace makes it accessible

and appealing, and its interactive nat-

ure means that young people are more

likely to engage and care about its

contents.

Theresa Jones

Department of Psychology,

University of York

Practitioners’ Toolkit 157