Relational Family Therapy as an Aid Toward Resolving the Trauma of Sexual Abuse in Childhood in the Process of Separation in the Couple Relationship investigates how repetitive patterns of relationships in early childhood duplicate into adulthood. The article defined terms such as Relational Family Therapy (RFT) and sexual abuse by processing through a case study and expanding on the terms throughout the article. Slavič & Gostečnik (2016) defined on Relational Family Therapy as a therapeutic approach that combines intrapsychic dynamics with interpersonal mechanisms that assumes that patterns of relationships are repeated from childhood into adulthood through somatic memory specifically in traumatic experiences (p. 422). The authors clarified …show more content…
424). RFT explains that even if victims of sexually abuse consciously yearn for a healthy sense of love, belonging and respect, subconsciously they will not be attracted to these affects, as they will not feel safe. The victims will be attracted to individuals who have similar affects (shame, disgust, contempt, fear, ect.) in their internal psychic structure (Slavič & Gostečnik, 2017, p. 424). The articles expresses that these affects are important for victims to overcome and cope with that have spawned from their sexual abuse in …show more content…
The counselor should seek to help the client move to a place of forgiveness and breaking the cycle of abuse. We as Christians and should be willing to bear one another’s burdens and help clients to see that Jesus is the place for real hope and healing. God is the one who heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3) and we should point clients to him. We are called to forgive and Colossians 3:13 describes the Christian life as, “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” The process of forgiving an abuser or even oneself for the experiences from childhood will not be an easy task, but will bring freedom and
In Queen’s “Being Emotionally Abuse: A Phenomenological Study of Adult Women’s Experience of Emotionally Abusive Intimate Partner Relationship”, focused on a total of 15 women, who have been emotionally abused from an intimate partner relationship and wanted the women to describe, “What is it like to live the life of a woman who is emotionally abused by her intimate partner?” When experiencing emotional abuse, it can be express as “not easily detected; it is non-transparent in there is no physical markers.” (Bornstein 2007, Campbell & Humphreys, 1984; Evans 1996; Gelles & Strauss, 19888; Kurst-Swanger & Petcosk, 2003, O’Leary 1999; Walker, 2000). The emotional abuse can be very hurtful towards the women at times because while in the cycle of the relationship, the woman cannot tell when something bad or good will happen. While this is happening, she begins to lose strength that she once had before and in away she is trapped inside her own mind. With physical harm, individuals outside the relationship can notice the bumps and bruises on the skin. Alma, a young mother of three pre-teen girls describes her personal experience with emotional abuse as, “I was very restricted. He wouldn’t allow me to contact my mom...my family, my friends. After I had my daughter, I wasn’t allowed to go to the doctor. I could only go to take my daughter...I didn’t know anything about our checking account..I didn’t have my own money.” When thinking about emotional abuse, understand that you cannot see the “bumps and bruises” but you can still see the effect it has on the partner by using their minds as their weapon rather focus upon the individual. According to Queen and others, after their research, they would define
The structural model of the systemic family therapy is an option for the analysis and therapeutic interventions, which is based on the family as an open system, on the interaction in the family structure, which determine the relationships among its members (Minuchin, 1974 ). As therapists, we must work on the dysfunctional patterns of the family organization structured to allow the family to effectively carry out their tasks and functionally to face their daily stresses. With family, reorganization is expected that the problem will go away
Many counselors attribute their clients' woes to long-buried "repressed" memories of childhood sexual abuse. They help clients to unlock these, and rewrite their pasts. Clients sever all former ties with "families of origin" and surround themselves only with other "survivors", to prevent confirmation or denial.
Because of the large amount of overlap in assessing the given family from a structural and strategic point of view, only the differences and additional requirements will be described in the following section. The main areas of differences relate to the overall therapeutic focus and the discussion of power. From a strategic point of view, problems serve as a function therefore the differences in assessment will not focus on shifts in power or hierarchy but will assess what purpose each issue serves. Additionally, viewing the family from a strategic point of view, each problem mustn’t be addressed as its own entity but all issues/concerns can be traced back to the presenting problem. The assessment, therefore, becomes part of the therapeutic
Practicing and researching solution-focused family therapy is growing and becoming more prevalent in the helping profession (Gingerich, Kim, Geert, Stams, & Macdonald, 2012; Kim & Franklin, 2015). As such, solution-focused family therapy is now considered an evidence-based therapeutic approach for all helping professionals. Additionally, solution-focused family therapy is proven to be flexible and portable to a range of therapeutic settings including behavioral health and community counseling clinics, school counseling, alcohol and drug treatment facilities, and coaching. While, solution-focused family therapy is greatly recognized as a useful evidence-based approach, there is a lack of research on the process
The effects of childhood sexual abuse carry on with the children forever. To what extent and to what effect does abuse have on children during adulthood? What are the main issues that adults have been abused suffer from in adulthood? Do they have more of a physical issue with preforming with their partner in the bedroom or do they have more of a mental block due to their trauma? The world had been asking these questions for far too long and we need answers on how helping the children of our world. The questions that have been stated have been answered through the two articles that will be summarized below.
Children and youth who are at-risk for behavioral problems can have a negative impact on how well the family functions. African American youth who live in poverty are thought to be at-risk for several behavioral problems such as dropping out of school, conduct problems, fighting, criminal involvement, and substance abuse (Nebbitt et al, 2014, Wilson, Foster, Anderson, & Mance, 2009). They are often exposed to violence in their neighborhoods and families, and many of the schools that they attend have fewer resources, all of which help to increase the likelihood of acting out or behavior problems. Parents and families who live in poverty often do not have the education, knowledge or access to intervention or treatment that
I found that Virginia Satir’s Experiential Family Therapy is the most interesting and important theory for especially youth. Family has a strong connection to youth’s mental condition. I strongly agree that Satir’s way of practice, which is “bringing the father into therapy,” and she “focused on the development of self-esteem in the family members and helped them to communicate directly and openly with each other,” is effective to the patient’s unfathomable depth.
Kochka, P., & Carolan, M. (2002). Alliance protection: The influence of childhood sexual abuse memories on couple dynamics. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 1(4), 59-71. MacIntosh, H. B., & Johnson, S. (2008). Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples and Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 34(3), 298-315.
In our society families are the foundation of all human relationships. Therefore learning to maintain and develop healthy families are the goals of family therapist. Counselors can use the Structural Family Therapy approach in counseling hurting families. The pioneer of structural family therapy is Salvador Minuchin (Hammond & Nichols, 2014).
Sexual abuse cannot be clearly defined with ease. In fact, sexual abuse is an umbrella term for any sort of situation, whether or not it involves physical contact, in which a sexually immature child is exposed to anything sexual in nature. Because no child is psychologically mature enough for sexual stimulation, the complex feelings associated with it are mentally and emotionally disfiguring. Children who have been sexually abused experience an array of negative emotions such as shame, guilt and anger, and may display oddly withdrawn or distrustful behaviors. They cannot help but feel that they somehow brought the abuse unto themselves (Saisan, et al). One major contributing factor to these severe psychological consequences is the concept of trust. Sexual abuse is, in most cases, committed by a parent or other trusted adult figure. While children are naïve on such adult topics, they can still get an overwhelming feeling that the attention is wrong, yet they are unsure of how to cope with it. If the child has an emotional atta...
Divorce is and has become a major issue in our society, the reason for that has been attributed to the drastic increase in divorce rates over the years. Divorce often disrupts the flow of the family structure, increases discord, and affects how family issues are handled. Families dealing with divorce are often times in a state of complete confusion and disorder, and filled with frustration, anger, and pain. Power struggles between spouses, which often times spread to the children if there any increase as the addiction worsens. There is a growing concernment among those in different fields like Social Work, Academia, and Mental Health in the United States, other countries, who have taken an interest in how divorce is readjusting
My theoretical approach to family therapy is very integrative as I believe families cannot be described nor treated from a single-school approach. I view humans through a humanistic and existential lens but am more technically structural and solution-based. With this integrative approach, I believe I will be the most effective in helping families grow and reach their goals.
A family came in for therapy. There are five people in this family. There are two teenage girls, an 18-year-old male, and a mother and a father. Lately, one of the girls is no longer attending school, she is also withdrawing from friends. She has been disrespectful towards dad. She has been posting lewd pictures on social media, and there are people in the neighborhood telling the parents that they have seen one of their daughters drinking when with their friends.
It is most important to understand that children and teens of all racial, religious, ethnic, gender and age groups, at all socio-economic levels are sexually abused. Although there are risk factors that may increase the possibility of sexual abuse, sex abuse can be found in all types of families, communities, and cultures (The Scope of, 2016). Childhood sexual abuse is an important issue to address because the impact of sexual does not end when the abuse ends. Childhood trauma follows into adulthood and can have long-range effects. “Survivors of sexual abuse are at significantly greater risks for severe and chronic mental health issues, including alcoholism, depression, anxiety, PTSD and high risk behaviors” (The Scope Of, 2016). Victims may experience traumatic sexualization, or the shaping of their sexuality in “developmentally inappropriate” and “interpersonally dysfunctional” ways (Effects of Child, 2012). “A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults, and can become suicidal” (Effects of Child, 2012). Overall, the effects and impact of childhood sexual abuse are long lasting and do not diminish when the abuse ends, their childhood trauma follows them into