A SOUTHAMPTON mental health professional has been awarded a coveted grant which may lead to a new approach to helping young people who self-harm.

Clare Canning founded Embodied, a social enterprise which provides support for young people and parents affected by self harm and professionals supporting them.

Clare broke the cycle of self-harm herself – when she was younger she used to cut herself up to ten times a day – and has used her experience to help others.

She has now been awarded a grant by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, to enable her to spend six weeks in the USA and Canada, researching mindfulness interventions for self harm.

She hopes that this will help her to set up a pilot project early next year, to benefit local young people, with a view to it being rolled out nationally if it proves successful.

"The point of the grant is that you bring back what you learn to disseminate for the good of the country," explains Clare.

"I'm hoping to visit the psychologist and author Marsha Linehan, who created a type of psychotherapy called dilectical behaviour therapy, the 'father of piercing and tattooing in the West' Fakir Musafar, and a holistic residential centre in Ontario.

"I'm hoping to come back with new approaches to using mindfulness to help manage self-harm as well as how to work with people who are at very high risk to themselves, well as helping to understand self-harm in a global context."

More than 1,200 people applied for a grant this year, with around 150 awarded. Clare had to face what she says was 'the most terrifying interview ever,' with an interview panel which included Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.

The grant covers her air fares, internal travel, visas, insurance, accommodation and living costs while abroad.

"I am massively excited and really privileged," says Clare.

"At the moment, there's nothing like the approach to using mindfulness for people who self-harm that I'm hoping this will lead to."