Carolyn Helps
Research Interests
My research interests focus on nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal thoughts and behaviours, particularly help-seeking, social support, and recovery. I also have a strong interest in incorporating individuals with lived experience related to self-harm into the research process. I hope to use a mixed-methods approach to understand when, how, and why individuals are able to manage, reduce, or cease engaging in self-damaging behaviours and how this subsequently affects mental health and wellbeing.
Representative Publications
Turner, B.J. & Helps, C. E. (In Press). Using Micro-Longitudinal Methods to Examine Social-Communicative Functions of Self-Injury in Everyday Life. In W. Bareiss (Ed.) Self-Injury and Communication: The body as a Medium for Messaging Distress and Resistance
Representative Presentations
Helps, C. E., Turner, B. J., Comtois, K. A., Kerbrat, A. H., Stiles, B. (2018, November). Examining trajectories of services following emergency department visits for suicidal patients. Paper Presentation: Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 52nd Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.
Helps, C., Treble, M., Prud’homme, J., & Turner, B. (2018, August). Contributors to Wellbeing in First-Year University Students Experiencing Thoughts of Suicide: A Thematic Analysis. Paper presentation: 10th Biennial International Meaning Conference, Vancouver, BC.
Helps, C. E. & Turner, B. J. (2018, April). Campus Connection and Help-Seeking Behaviours in First-Year Students with Suicidal Ideations. Paper Presentation: American Association of Suicidology 51st Annual Conference, Washington, DC.
Recent Awards
2018 - 2019: SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship, Master’s
2018 - 2019: President’s Research Scholarship, University of Victoria
2016 – 2017: Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Award, University of Victoria