Our values

People experience self-harm in a variety of different ways. Make Space works to honour and respond to complexity with nuance and humility. We believe in the value of being with difficulty without rushing to resolve it.

We value self-determination and self-definition. Our job is not to change people’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviour. Instead, we promote connection and mutual respect, as well as psychological, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing/safety.

Make Space foregrounds lived experience, both our own and those of people who join our conversations. We provide an alternative to medicalised frameworks for understanding self-harm, which often fail to recognise or encompass the complexity of people’s real lives. We value community and peer support, and we actively promote user-led services.

Our work is grounded in the knowledge that experiences of self-harm are significantly impacted by marginalisation along lines such as race, gender, class, and sexuality. Our work should always be read within the broader need for systems change. People with experience of self-harm often benefit from 1:1 support, but also require us to challenge and reimagine systems that cause mental distress and/or crisis in the first place.