Treating Abused Adolescents (From APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment, P 119-139, 1996, John Briere, Lucy Berliner, et al, eds. - See NCJ-172299)

• NCJ Number: 172306
• Author(s): M Chaffin; B L Bonner; K B Worley; L Lawson
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

One of the ironies in the field of psychotherapy is that almost no empirical studies and comparatively limited clinical literature are available on the treatment of abused adolescents.

Abstract

As appreciation of the reality and frequency of adolescent abuse has grown, clinicians have increasingly begun to inquire into the occurrence of such abuse in adolescent patients. The field of abuse-focused therapy (AFT) has emerged in recent years, a therapeutic technique that explores and describes abuse as it is phenomenologically experienced by victims. AFT is relevant to the treatment of abused adolescents and recognizes certain characteristics of adolescence, such as physical and sexual development, changes in dependency status, and cognitive development. Sexually abused adolescents can enter AFT for ongoing and recently disclosed abuse or for abuse that occurred several years earlier and either has come to light recently or is assumed to be related to emerging present difficulties. Not all teenagers who have been sexually abused require treatment, but it is not clear how to determine who does not need treatment, even among those exhibiting limited or moderate symptoms. Victims may seek to avoid dealing with the reality and implications of sexual abuse, vacillating between intrusive thoughts about the abuse and periods of avoidance and denial. In any case, the needs of abused adolescents cannot be neglected based solely on their ambivalence or reluctance to seek help. Sensitive assessment of adolescents who have been sexually abused must be conducted, and psychological testing may be necessary. Various approaches are available to treat sexually abused adolescents, including educative therapy, group psychotherapy, individual therapy, and acute inpatient treatment. In the case of adolescents who have been physically or psychologically abused, appropriate assessment and treatment are also essential. Future directions in the treatment of abused adolescents are noted. 120 references and 1 note