Ending
Self-Injury
Counseling and Treatment for Self-Injury in St. Louis, Missouri
Beginning Life Again
Ending
Self-Injury
& Beginning
life again
Counseling and Treatment for Self-Injury in St. Louis, Missouri
S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® is a nationally recognized treatment approach designed to help you and others achieve an end to self-injurious behavior.

Getting Started
Are you ready to take the next step? Contact us to set up an assessment and we will walk you through the process.
When to Consider Treatment
- Non-specific outpatient therapy has failed to decrease the intensity and/or frequency of self-injurious behavior.
- The client may be new to self-injury; however, the behavior is escalating rapidly and/or interfering with most aspects of their life.
- One or more aspects of life (school, work, or relationships) are negatively impacted by the behavior.
- The client experiences frequent and/or intense impulses to injure even though able to resist engaging in such behavior.
- Inability to cope with daily stressors without resorting to poor coping skills such as self-injury and other impulsive behavior.
- The client has been working in treatment, displays a desire to change but has been unable to enact any meaningful change in behavior or quality of life.
Other Factors to Consider
- Seeking treatment for self-injury is similar to seeking specialized care for eating disorders or chemical dependency.
- Self-injurers are 9 times more likely to attempt suicide.
- Crisis stabilization merely puts a band-aid on the problem, resulting in relapse.
Quality of Life is a Choice!
Parent Webinar
Are you a parent seeking to better understand and help your child who is self-injuring? Watch this free online seminar by S.A.F.E. Alternatives founder Wendy Lader, Ph.D.
Crisis Hotlines
Do you need immediate help? Contact one of these crisis hotlines.
National Hopeline Network
1-800-784-2433
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255
Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN)
1-800-656-4673
24-hour Chat: hotline.rainn.org
Domestic Violence
1-800-799-7233
The Trevor Project (LGBTQ)
1-866-488-7386
Crisis Text Line
Text “TWLOHA” to 741-741
A trained crisis counselor receives the text and responds quickly.
Even though self-injury may be an attempt to manage emotional pain, it often creates its own chaos, shame, and relational conflict. The compulsion to use self-harming behaviors, such as cutting, picking, or burning, is often confusing to those who engage in the behavior and those who love them.
At S.A.F.E. Alternatives, we provide specialized treatment for those who self-injure (also known as self-harm, self-abuse, self-mutilation, non-suicidal self-injury) and provide a nationally recognized treatment approach designed to end self-injurious behavior.
Our St. Louis-based individual, family and group therapies are led by compassionate, knowledgeable, experts, with over 30 years of experience, committed to helping you find healthier, more effective alternatives to coping with life. Together we can help end self-injury and begin life again. Quality of Life is a Choice!
The S.A.F.E. Clinic provides outpatient services to adolescents and adults who engage in self-destructive, impulsive behaviors and have a desire to stop.
- Individual and Family Therapy
- Weekly Group Psychotherapy
- Family Education
What Others Are Saying
“I cannot express how much I value the team at SAFE Alternatives. Their open communication and collaboration guide all aspects of treatment. Our regular meetings make me a better psychiatrist and lead to the most appropriate interventions for our clients. Highly recommend!”