Hmmm... I think you misunderstood the source of my question. I actually was having a hard time figuring out just where exactly the self-harm (or SI, although not all cutting is SI) pattern fits with the multiple pattern and I'm trying to get a broader perspective. I am looking for replies, like yours, from the systems in this community rather than judgements and credos from psych models because I've found the population here to be a much more diverse and healthy representation of the experience than is found in clinical models. I don't mind you getting "prickly" -

"Remembering the person I knew who begged for someone to help her stop cutting, I kind of cringe at the idea that such a person might come in a multiple community looking for help and simply be told that it was normal for multiples."

I cringe at this scenario also - thus the question.