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Cover image of Bodies under Siege
Cover image of Bodies under Siege
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Bodies under Siege

Self-mutilation, Nonsuicidal Self-injury, and Body Modification in Culture and Psychiatry

Armando Favazza, M.D.

third edition
Publication Date
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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 Favazza’s pioneering work identified a wide range of forces, many of them cultural and societal, that compel or impel people to mutilate themselves. This new edition examines the explosive growth...

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 Favazza’s pioneering work identified a wide range of forces, many of them cultural and societal, that compel or impel people to mutilate themselves. 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, ethnological, 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.

Reviews

Reviews

The book is very well written and extremely informative, and Favazza has produced a refreshingly honest and objective account of self-harming behaviour... There is much to be learned from this book and, for clinicians or academics working with people who self-harm, it is an invaluable resource.

Bodies Under Siege is an excellent book dealing with self-mutilation in depth and breadth. It is a clinical volume that should be of use to all in the mental health field. The book is also an anthropological contribution to the understanding of what it means to be human.

Bodies under Siege is an excellent book dealing with self-mutilation in depth and breadth. It is a clinical volume that should be of use to all in the mental health field. The book is also an anthropological contribution to the understanding of what it means to be human... I believe that this book will remain a classic in the psychiatric literature, and I recommend it to a wide audience.

Explores the various ways in which people mutilate their bodies. Favazza explores the historical background and offers insights into how and why people do truly appalling things to their limbs, heads, and genitals. He pleads for understanding for a group of patients who are often seen as bizarre and repellent.

The seminal book on [nonsuicidal self-injury]; presents a comprehensive historical, anthropological, and clinical review of the topic.

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About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
352
ISBN
9780801899669
Illustration Description
17 b&w photos
Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition
Part I: Mutilative Beliefs, Religion, Eating, and Ethology
1. Mutilative Beliefs, Attitudes, Practices, and Images
2. Self-mutilation in Myths of Creation, Shamanism, and

Preface to the Third Edition
Part I: Mutilative Beliefs, Religion, Eating, and Ethology
1. Mutilative Beliefs, Attitudes, Practices, and Images
2. Self-mutilation in Myths of Creation, Shamanism, and Religion
3. Self-injury and Eating Disorders
4. Animals and Automutilation
Part II: Mutilation and Self-Injury of Body Parts: Cultural and Clinical Cases
5. The Head and Its Parts
6. The Limbs
7. The Skin
8. The Genitals
Part III: Insight and Treatment
9. Understanding Self-injury
10. The Assessment, Psychology, and Biology of Self-injury
11. Treatment
12. Personal Reflections
Epilogue: Body Play: My Journey, Fakir Musafar
References
Index

Author Bio
Featured Contributor

Armando R. Favazza, M.D., M.P.H.

Armando Favazza, M.D., is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is a fellow of both the American Psychiatric Association and the American College of Psychiatrists and is a co-founder of the Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture.