Self-mutilating behavior (SMB) seems unique among psychiatric problems in that it has a contagion effect among adolescents undergoing treatment for it; the attention given to a recent self-mutilator by the group becomes the object of desire by other sufferers. The article offers a step-by-step program for successful group treatment, i.e., accurate labeling of SMB, labeling the group dynamics which occur after the act, predicting the repetition, & redefining the actions of group members.