{
  "abstract": "Developing clear, adaptable, and engaging methodologies is critical for advancing the understanding and prevention of self-harm and suicide. This paper presents a review of the development, application and adaptation of the Card Sort Task for Self-Harm (CaTS), a structured, interactive tool designed to map individual pathways to self-harm. Grounded in psychological theory and co-developed with input from people with lived experience, CaTS uses 117 evidence-informed cards representing thoughts, feelings, events, behaviours, and support-related factors. Participants place these cards along a timeline spanning the period before and after a self-harm episode, enabling the identification of both risk and protective factors as well as the sequencing of relevant experiences. The inclusion of blank cards supports personalisation, ensuring the tool remains sensitive to diverse experiences. Unlike traditional psychometric measures, CaTS emphasises holistic understanding and temporal patterning. Since its initial application, CaTS has been adapted for use with varied populations, delivery formats, and research settings. This paper outlines the conception and evolution of CaTS, highlighting the tool’s potential for clinical, research and participatory applications, and utility in training and public engagement. By offering a flexible, person-centred approach, CaTS advances inclusive and nuanced exploration of self-harm processes, offering a novel way to explore often-overlooked, complex temporal dynamics.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration (GM PSRC), University of Manchester, Manchester, UK",
    "Self-Harm Research Group, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK",
    "School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK",
    "National Centre for Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Research, Population Data Science, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK",
    "Department of Informatics, Bush House, Strand Campus, King’s College London, London, UK",
    "Institute of Mental Health, Jubilee Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK",
    "NIHR MindTech MedTech Co-Operative, Institute of Mental Health, Mental Health & Clinical Neurosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2TU UK",
    "Department of Psychology, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC USA",
    "Department of Psychological Sciences, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY USA",
    "Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK",
    "Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK",
    "Health Technology Assessment in Primary Care and Mental Health (PRISMA Group), Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain",
    "Hearing Sciences, Mental Health and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK",
    "NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre-Hearing, Nottingham, Nottingham, UK",
    "School of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK",
    "Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK",
    "Department of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK"
  ],
  "article_type": "review article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 17,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Emma Nielsen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6550-9487"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Katherine Bird",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1749-1673"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "A. Jess. Williams",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3987-3824"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Joanna Lockwood",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-6616-3792"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "David Jobes",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7370-3298"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Amy Brausch",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7123-7633"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Ruth Wadman",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4205-0631"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Delfina Bilello",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0475-7492"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Camilla M. Babbage"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sarah Cassidy",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1982-3034"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Laura del Carpio",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8221-6478"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Blandine French",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9395-5919"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        12,
        13
      ],
      "name": "Carol MacDonald",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0798-1169"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        14
      ],
      "name": "Victoria Newell",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4834-9741"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        15
      ],
      "name": "Mirabel Pelton",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3378-8944"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        16
      ],
      "name": "Susan Rasmussen",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6408-0028"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ellen Townsend",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4677-5958"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0qfcvbrxp9eh2.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s12888-026-08377-3",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13744108/",
  "id": "0qfcvbrxp9eh2",
  "issns": [
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  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Review"
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      "openalex",
      "3203|Suicide and Self-Harm Studies"
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  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13744108",
  "pmid": "42469753",
  "published": "2026-07-17",
  "publisher": "BMC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0qfcvbrxp9eh2.ris",
  "sources": [
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      "first_seen": "2026-11-11T12:21:40Z",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:3203|Suicide and Self-Harm Studies",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
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  ],
  "title": "The Card Sort Task for Self-harm (CaTS): a review of the development, application, and adaptation of a novel tool for the assessment and contextual understanding of self-harm",
  "title_text": "The Card Sort Task for Self-harm (CaTS): a review of the development, application, and adaptation of a novel tool for the assessment and contextual understanding of self-harm",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-11T12:21:40Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0qfcvbrxp9eh2",
  "venue": "BMC Psychiatry",
  "versions": []
}