Effects From Sexual Abuse And PTSD Case Study Sample

 Effects from Sexual Abuse and PTSD

About one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused by age 18 years. Why do you think sexual abuse is so prevalent?
Sexual abuse is prevalent among boys and girls of age below 18 years due to a number of reasons. The reasons include isolated family, low family income, marital conflict, the child’s lack of social contact, presence of stepfather, family attitudes that are sexually restrictive, substance abuse by parents as well as poor mother-child relationship (Kearney 2013).
If you are to interview a severely abused child, what themes would be most important to cover first? What characteristics about yourself should you think about when talking to an abused child?
There are a number of themes to be used first while talking to a sexually abused person. Themes to cover first while interviewing a sexually abused person are occurrence and the type of abuse. The interviewer should seek to develop rapport with the abused while ensuring a safe and confidential environment that promotes comfort, for confession of personal issues.
What types of trauma are most likely to lead to PTSD? Why do some people experience PTSD following a terrible event and others do not? Explore personal, family and social issues to address this question.
There are different types of traumas that can lead someone to be qualifying for PTSD (Kearney 2013). The trauma symptoms include the abused developing a feeling of threat to his or her physical integrity and helplessness, the feeling of nightmares, lose of interest by the abused in his or her favorite activities as well as detaching oneself from others. Although PTSD symptoms seem to be similar among individuals who are recovering from sexual abuse, sometimes different people display different PTSD symptoms depending on their relationship with the abuser as well as the events succeeding the abuse.

What events in your life might you describe as traumatic? What about the event made you feel that way?

There are other symptoms prevalent among someone feeling traumatized include anger, depression, anxiety, dissociation and posttraumatic stress. Thinking about past experience is painful and leads to more stress (Mash 2013).
Given Mrs. Kennington’s behavior, do you feel Joline should stay with her mother after her father left? Explore advantages and disadvantages of this situation.
Despite the vengeful character displayed by Mrs. Kennington to influence her daughter’s statements, it is safer for Joline to stay with her mother following the departure of her father. The advantages of staying with her mother will include good mother-child relationship that will keep her away from the father’s abuse (Mash 2013). Following the incidence, Joline mother is most likely to be more careful with her daughter’s affairs. Furthermore, she will have to perform all parenting duties and responsibilities, following departure of her husband. However, the disadvantage facing joline is that she is still exposed to risks that might lead to more sexual abuse in future. If her mother decides to remarry, she will be forced to live with a stepfather. Family conflicts are also likely to occur.
If you could speak to Joline about her situation, what would you most like to say? If you were a therapist and was abused in the past, would you self-disclose this as part of therapy to help your client? Defend your answer.
If I am given a chance to speak to Joline, I would advise her to be sincere while testifying. She should not accept to be used by her mother for vengeful motives. If I was abused before as a therapist, I would disclose the information to Joline to gain her trust and confidence to share her real experience.
Can memories of past abuse be repressed and later remembered? Support your answer. What are judicial and other ramifications of this phenomenon?
Although memories of past abuse can be repressed, they can still be remembered. One is most likely to remember the past abusive events if therapeutic process involves the use of dolls. The best solution to the problem is to take legal action against the abuser (Navalta 2014).
Explore the utility or desirability of self help groups for treating people who have been sexually abused. Discuss the pros and cons of using support groups rather than a trained professional who never experienced abuse personally.
The use of support group can help treat people who have experienced sexual abuse. The advantage of help group is the great confidence and trust the abused has in them. Despite some members having been abused before, not all of them have skills in dealing with sexual abuse. They might not be able to create good rapport with the abused.

Bibliography

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. (5th Ed.). (2013). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
Kearney, C. (2013). Casebook in child behavior disorders (5th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Mash, E., & Wolfe, D. (2013). Abnormal child psychology (5th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth CengageLearning.
Navalta, C. P., Polcari, A., Webster, D. M., Boghossian, A., & Teicher, M. H. (2014). Effects of childhood sexual abuse on neuropsychological and cognitive function in college women.