NCJ Number
103284
Date Published
1986
Length
291 pages
Annotation
Edited transcripts of interviews with eight New York City victims who availed themselves of group counseling services illuminates the mental health crisis suffered by crime victims.
Abstract
Materials are presented in a double description format: interviewees' words are presented in the left column; author's responses, materials from group exercises and evaluations, and quotations from the media and scholarly journals are presented in the right column of each page. Transcripts indicate that victims who have had their lives psychologically threatened by a crime experience this threat as if it were an actual death. This symbolic death eliminates notions of immortality the victims may have had, leaving them acutely vulnerable. In general, the criminal is perceived as an uncontrollable monster. Subsequent feelings of loss of control and disempowerment frequently result in rage, depression, and psychic self-imprisonment. Identification with the aggressor is common, increasing feelings of shame and self-loathing. In addition, the event often serves to exacerbate previous or ongoing emotional difficulties. Once victims confronted and conquered the most vulnerable aspects of their personalities during counseling, all symptoms were markedly alleviated, and an upward movement toward emotional mastery and mental equilibrium occurred. 11 notes and approximately 240 references.