Therapy for child psychological maltreatment

Abstract

Research of childhood psychological maltreatment has documented a range of severe and long-lasting difficulties for children who experience this type of abuse. Consequences can include but are not limited to emotional and behavioural problems, low self-esteem, and relationship difficulties. Accordingly, the development of therapy programs to assist children's recovery is imperative. Despite this, there are currently no empirically validated therapy programs designed specifically to target the effects of psychological maltreatment. There is, however, a growing literature on the effectiveness of therapies for other types of maltreatment, in particular sexual abuse. The present paper summarises the literature on treatments for childhood trauma including sexual and physical abuse. The application of these treatments to target outcomes secondary to psychological maltreatment is discussed and future research directions identified.

Keywords:

• Child and adolescent psychopathology
• clinical/counselling psychology
• emotional disorders
• psychological disorders
• child abuse
• psychological maltreatment
• child and adolescent psychopathology