The Royal College of Psychiatrists (2010) estimates that the incidence of self-harm in the UK has risen over the last 20 years and that the rates among young people are the highest in Europe. Tissue viability practitioners will at some time in their career be expected to plan the care for a person who has self-harmed. However, self-harm is poorly understood by many healthcare professionals. The quality of nursing care depends greatly on the quality of the assessment, therefore an accurate and holistic nursing assessment is crucial to ensure that people who self-harm receive appropriate care.