How can I deal with my sister cutting herself?

Getting a second or even third professional opinion might help. Not all professionals are equally good.

Try to understand why she needs to cut herself. She isnt doing it because she wants to, she does it because she HAS to. She is hurting so much inside the the only way to feel better is to release some pain, t o gain some control over something in her life. I would try to find out what she is feeling, and to judge her for whatever she is feeling.

Does your sister feel the therapy is helping? If not encourage her to see someone else. Honestly, I think you might be in for a rough ride. Do you know what it is she is so down about? Is it related to her childhood?

Has your sister told her therapist that she is cutting herself? Does her therapist have a background of treating cutters? If not, recommend she get someone else.

Maybe you should get some therapy for yourself to help you deal with the situation and how to cope with the fact that you can’t control other people. Believe it or not, Al-Anon might help.

So sorry! This is hard for family to watch. She is older than the classic cutter. Has she been doing this for a while?
This may sound strange, but my son stopped cutting when he started getting tattoos. I don’t think he dealt with the psychological issues very well, but he DID stop cutting.
I would agree with @keobooks , get counseling for yourself. Even if its alanon. Your sister is the only one with the power to change her behavior. All you can change is your response to it.

What @marinelife just wrote bears repeating:

Has your sister told her therapist that she is cutting herself? Does her therapist have a background of treating cutters? If not, recommend she get someone else.

I don’t really know what causes people to cut themselves..tell her to focus her aggression or self loathing issues towards something positive like weight lifting or exercise in general.

would help if you could describe what made her like this in the first place..any dramatic experiences? broken heart?

I’m 34. I cut. There is no pattern to it. I cut when I have to. I cut because I can’t cope with what is going through my head, I cant cope with my feelings. When it gets too much I have a desperate need to do it. Sometimes I only need to do it a little, just to see blood, to just realise to myself that I can di something. I’m not totally useless. Sometimes I have to do it a lot to relieve the pain. You don’t feel it at the time, it sort of like a big release. I haven’t done it for about a month. But this week I might need to do it several times.

@Headhurts I would rather go out and start a fight than to mutilate my own body. I’ve cut myself on accident on several occasions but it didn’t help with my mental status.

Why not get satisfaction out of simply being alive? or knowing that people love you?

I have a friend who occasionally sticks a needle in his thigh, he cant explain why…he just does.

@Xilas Thats good. Be thankful you don’t need to cut. Mental illness is horrible.

@Headhurts Everyone suffers from some type mental illness whether it is severe or not.

I just wish I understood better what could cause a person to cut? is it related to being suicidal? Is it pleasurable?

@Xilas You can’t possibly try to understand. Everyone does it for different reasons. Mostly relief of immense emotional pain.

@Headhurts I would think its simply because physical pain distracts you from the emotional pain.

@lovelessness so your sister understand she has a problem and is taking steps to stop doing it.. All you can do is be there to support her.

Sigh.. Just threaten to cut yourself if she dont stop and say “dont you care about me?!”

actually no thats just wrong.

Don’t deliver an ultimatum.
Don’t accidentally reinforce the behavior.
Don’t join in.

Talk about it.
Tell someone.
Help find more resources.
Help find alternatives to cutting.
Acknowledge her pain.
Be a good example of how to deal with things, and not cut.

She cuts herself because she thinks she is not good enough. She wants to be the best she can be and she has made many mistakes because of that pursuit and now she just doesn’t want to live…

That is some of the worst advice I’ve ever come across @Xilas
@lovelessness I can imagine how difficult it is for you to stand by and watch your sister hurting herself. It’s really tough. I understand where your sister is coming from as I used to cut myself a lot. In fact, I just had a conversation with my Mum about how much I regret doing that to my body as I’m covered in scars.
I did it to release intense feelings that I couldn’t verbalise & other reasons that @Headhurts pointed out.
I think you need to look after yourself. You’re never going to be able to control what another person does and you need to have an outlet too, i.e. therapy or support group as has been suggested. It will be immensely helpful to talk to people who feel helpless as their loved ones self-destruct. It’s a hugely draining and upsetting thing. Good luck finding a group.