Counseling Theories & Techniques Used With Child Abuse Victims

Victims of child abuse face long-term and severe effects from their experience. Therapists have developed numerous techniques for diagnosing and treating these effects. They can also use other techniques to uncover abuse in victims, even when their patients may have blocked out the experience or are unwilling to admit what they faced.

Play Therapy

• Play therapy is a psychoanalytical technique primarily used with children under the age of 11. Young children mimic activities they have seen or experienced, making play therapy an ideal technique for understanding what a child has experienced. Play therapy involves communicating with a child using toys and games. Ideal toys include dolls, action figures or dollhouses that represent the child's home environment. Child abuse victims reenact their abusive situation through play. Therapists can also use play therapy to demonstrate a healthy home life, helping children work through remaining feelings about their abuse and show them a healthier lifestyle.

Family Therapy

• Family therapy focuses on the family unit, working with all members of a family to reestablish a healthy connection. Family therapy is ideal for families recovering from abuse, specifically when the abuser is not part of the family. This includes child abuse situations where the abuser was outside of the family or when the family removed the abuser. A therapist can discuss the abuse with all members of the family, helping children cope with their experiences, while helping parents understand their children's unique needs.

Indirect Therapy

• Child abuse victims may present symptoms that are seemingly unrelated to their abuse, such as eating disorders, sleep disorders or depression. Therapists evaluate these symptoms as effects of past trauma and child abuse. These evaluations require therapists to spend more time with patients, looking for the cause and then recommending a treatment. Therapists consider a number of alternate diagnoses, tracking those conditions to more deeply rooted causes, such as abuse.

Medical Approach

• Psychiatry provides another technique to help victims of child abuse. Therapists can treat many of the symptoms of child abuse, such as depression, anxiety and self-esteem problems, with medicine. Patients may require a long-term medical approach to help address the effects of severe child abuse. This approach can help victims of child abuse achieve a normal and productive life. The medical approach is effective when therapists use it in conjunction with traditional therapy. Often, a medical approach helps victims cope with the effects of their victimization so they are able to discuss and work towards healing their lives.