NCJ Number
153176
Date Published
1995
Length
265 pages
Annotation
The stories of eight women who were severely abused as children are presented in this volume; perspectives of both therapist and abuse victim in the group therapy setting are offered.
Abstract
The eight women experienced various combinations of severe sexual, physical, or emotional abuse and neglect throughout much or all of their childhoods. One had been the victim of severe and prolonged ritual abuse. Group therapy included 30 sessions, and all but two women completed the sessions. The carefully evolved process of group therapy was based on the triangle theory of abuse involving perpetrator, victim, and observer. This process required abuse victims to acknowledge they had been permanently changed due to childhood abuse. Group members were taught to constructively deal with guilt, anger, rage, fear, and despair stemming from their early experiences, and most made remarkably good progress. Group therapy encouraged participants to express a wide range of feelings, and patients gained insights from each other. Statements by group members about abuse tended to validate how they felt, and the group produced a sense of cohesiveness that decreased the loneliness of the individual experience. Therapist insights were perceived differently by each group member, and the variety of reactions helped the therapist clarify his or her focus. Each group session included a precheck, homework, response, exercises, assignments, postcheck, support, and feedback. References and tables