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Healing the Heart: A Therapeutic Approach to Disturbed Children in Group Care

NCJ Number
123127
Author(s)
A Rosenfeld; S Wasserman
Date Published
1990
Length
94 pages
Annotation
This monograph describes an approach to treating several disturbed children who have been maltreated, usually by their parents. The goal of the treatment is to create a therapeutic environment in which the children can heal by bringing the adults who treat them to a deeper understanding of what drives the children's behavior.
Abstract
The population of children discussed in the monograph are those whose behavioral disturbances, caused by abuse, are so severe that, without improvement, they would probably be permanently isolated from society. The pragmatic and personal obstacles that block adult understanding of these children's emotional pain are examined. Treatment facilities for these children must provide means of controlling staff and patient frustration, must retain their focus on the children's needs, and must look for the unique experiences that shape each child's behavior. The monograph explores the forces that shaped the children's lives before entering treatment including deprivation, separation and loss of caring figures, depression, reality distortion and denial disorganization, physical attack, sexual activity, and destructive or sadistic feelings. The final section of the monograph discusses the treatment program which seeks to change the child's understanding of past experiences and provides a sense of security as a context for the future. Issues that appear in the early phase of treatment, complications and difficulties in treatment, reactions of staff and therapists, and methods for achieving therapy goals are explored. Chapter references.