NCJ Number
113660
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (1988) Pages: 417-420
Date Published
1988
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article details the case history of a sexually-abused child in psychotherapy.
Abstract
The psychotherapist used dolls to help the child verbalize her fears. The child was traumatized by and obsessed with the sexual abuse, but was unable to acknowledge that it had occurred. The case history discusses why the child was unable to talk out her experiences. After several months in psychotherapy, the child agreed to write letters to another sexually-abused child to help her with her problems. Through the letter writing, the child was able to overcome her compulsions to act out and she was able to acknowledge and verbalize her fearful experiences. The article discusses the ethical considerations of the deception of writing to another child (a fiction created by the psychotherapist) to bring about a curative situation for thc child in therapy. 16 references. (Author abstract modified)