SUPPORT GROUPS FOR INCEST VICTIMS.   Term Paper ID:30105 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines whether support group treatment for children sexually abused by family members is the appropriate treatment of incest.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines whether support group treatment for children sexually abused by family members is the appropriate treatment of incest. Discusses characteristics of support groups & the group process. Outcomes. Symptoms and needs of the incest survivor. Types of support group treatment. Refers to many studies on the topic. Conclusions. Paper Introduction: ARE SUPPORT GROUPS EFFECTIVE FOR VICTIMS OF INCEST Literature Review Sexual abuse of children by family members continues to come to the attention of mental health professionals as does the exploration for the most appropriate treatment of incest. This paper investigates the question as to whether support groups may offer the most effective modality for treatment of incest victims. An introduction to the problem, characteristics of support group treatment of incest victims, the group process, outcomes of support group treatment of incest victims, and conclusions will be included in this presentation. Introduction to The Problem Kn Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Somatic symptoms, socialsupport, and treatment seeking among sexual assault victims. Marotta, S. J., Trepper, T. However, moststudies tend to report the opposite, that group treatment results inpositive effects for the incest survivor. While sometherapists believe that a child must not be prompted to reveal theirstories until they are ready to do so, because a premature return to thepain would only further traumatize the child, others believe that onlythrough bringing the child to the pain will they be released from it.Children have shown their tendencies to want to tell their story regardlessof their reluctance. Sexual abuse survivors: Identifying symptomsand special treatment considerations. Kimerling, R., & Calhoun, K. F., Osachuk, T. In addition, the groupmember provides support for others which brings a feeling of worth andadequacy resulting in increased self-esteem. The Group Process Knight (1997) reports that the group treatments of adults who weresexually abused in childhood, are viewed as support groups. While many forms of intervention may beappropriate and effective for the incest survivor, the support groupmodality has the advantage of being able to reduce the group membersfeelings of isolation. The group provides friendship (Neu,1995). ChildWelfare, 73(2), 141-148. They content with overwhelmingfeelings of rage and loss which may be feared and therefore denied. In this modality,the victim is encouraged to discuss their abuse experience and resultingfeelings. For example, feministsstate that treating incest within the family systems theory, ignores thesocietal impact and the effects of incest on members of the family. S. A., & Asner, K. Forgiveness isreported as becoming more prominent in clinical psychology as a therapeuticmodel. L. The group experience allows for a safeplace to develop and practice intimacy and the empowerment of self andothers. Knight, C. Ratican (1992) further identifies symptoms of childhood incest toinclude anxiety, depression, self-destructive tendencies, intimaterelationship difficulties, and suicidal tendencies. Journal of Counseling andDevelopment, 77(3), 315-323. The group leader reportsthat even with all of her experience and knowledge, she was unprepared forthis quiet pride based on a victory that would only be won through death.These feelings needed to be explored in the group member and the groupleader. (1995). Journal ofChild Sexual Abuse, 6(1), 21-37. In addition, the members chosen for the group will need to fitwith each other, based on history and experiences and other behavioralcharacteristics; imbalance may result in a minority feeling uncomfortablewhich will exacerbate feelings of being different and isolated, as well asfeelings of low self-esteem and depression. M. Freedman, S. Journal of Counseling andDevelopment, 71(1), 33-38. Symptoms and needs of the incest survivor are well documented. C., & Follette, W. Placing this victim in a group could result in feelings ofoverwhelm and an inability to handle this situation, which would lead toincreased feelings of inadequacy and failure, causing harm to theindividual. These conditions may offer equal value to theadult incest victim. The group provides a feelingof universality and the incest survivor begins to understand that she/he isnot alone or different as previously believed. Crowley, M. Neu (1995) reportson a particular type of support group and states that the function of theritual in a feminist spiritual support group has the potential to empowerthe woman and assist her in facing transitions which reclaim their ownsense of power. On the other hand some children remain split off fromconsciousness by defense mechanisms, hiding the story from themselves andothers. Helping early adolescents tell:A guided exercise for trauma-focused sexual abuse treatment groups. The tendency tosomaticize this distress is also common and may result in gastrointestinaldifficulties or medical complaints such as chronic pelvic pain, headaches,backaches, genitourinary difficulties, and skin problems. deYoung and Corbin (1994) further explore the ability of the groupmodalities to assist the child victim in the disclosure of the abuseexperience. Both depression andanxiety may result in sleep and/or appetite problems. (1992). The groups consisted of 13 closed group processesthat lasted for 15 consecutive one and one half to two hour sessions. Other studies focused on implementation,describing their models of group treatment and reporting literature onconsequences of incest. Crowley (1997), a sexual abuse support group facilitator, provides adescription of the group experience. Insome cases the feelings remain repressed (Knight, 199 ). Critical roles and responsibilities of the leaderin a therapy group for adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Theoutcome measures were carefully selected to reflect conceptual links to theresearch regarding consequences of childhood sexual abuse, successful prioruse, adequate and documented psychometric properties, and they were briefand unobtrusive. Group treatment of incest victims has advantages over individualtreatment (Knight, 199 ). Conclusions In conclusion, although the literature reports findings of studiesthat may lack strong methodology and design, results of support groupintervention for the incest victim are found to be positive. Flashbacks may take place during sexual encounters resultingin fear, anger, or crying. Group therapy in the treatment of childhood sexualabuse. Family characteristics such as cohesion or paternaldominance affect outcomes. Feminists point out that all types of psychotherapymay be potentially harmful to the incest victim since incestuous acts arerarely spoken of and the validity of these thoughts is questioned.Feminists state that family therapy, while having the potential to offersupport, may lose sight of the power and effects of the incestuous act andtend to ignore the literature on abuse of women and children in general.Family therapy may also tend to place the blame on the entire familyincluding the victim, which may exacerbate the victim's over-tendency toaccept responsibility. Thus it was concluded that outcome studiesregarding group intervention for female incest victims is lacking andstudies available tend to be weak in design quality. Journal of Consulting and ClinicalPsychology, 64(5), 983-992. Social support may be a moderating variable in symptom reduction andtreatment of the incest victim. These groups not only provide support for the incestvictim, minimizing isolation, providing a sense of security, and allowingfor the expression of feelings and the sharing of experiences, but theyallow for a focus on the spiritual journey and personal well-being of theindividual. Repression of the abuse may also be presentwith denial of feelings and dissociation or depersonalization from theself. (1991).Individual predictors of outcome in group treatment for incest survivors.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59(1), 15 -155. Freedman and Enrigt (1996) report on an additional goal of the grouptreatment of the incest victim which is forgiveness of the abuser. Drug abuse and alcoholismare found to be significantly higher among this group compared to non-abused individuals. In this manner, thevictim is able to express the rage, loss, shame, self-doubt, and tendenciesto take responsibility for the abuse, and they are also able to focus onthe present. In astudy of 12 female incest survivors, ages 24 to 54 years, participants wereassigned to an experimental group and a waiting list control group. Findings were that closed process groups offered to 115incest survivors resulted in significantly less depression andsignificantly improved self-esteem, compared with wait-list controls. Knight (1997) also reports that the leader creates a group culturewhich requires assisting the members to go beyond their tendency to hidetrue selves from others. Group workintervention with female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Depression is the mostprevalent symptom, however survivors also tend to experience chronicanxiety which may include anxiety attacks and phobias. In a sample of115 women ages 15 to 71 years, social support failed to have a significanteffect, however it was also noted that this group tended not to seek socialsupport and the definitions of support varied from crisis phone contact, toone visit, to long-term support. Needs of theincest victim have been well-documented for many years and it is logicallyconcluded that at least some of these needs, such as the need to endisolation, are best addressed in a group format. (1995). Yamamoto (2 ) reports that group work for the incest victim can be apowerful part of overall treatment and healing. Feminist-informed family therapy for the treatment of intrafamily child sexualabuse. Barrett, Trepper, and Fish (199 ) pointed out however, thatfamily treatment of incest has been criticized. Group psychotherapy for womenwith a history of incest: The research base. Journal ofConsulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(2), 333-34 . Treatment for this individual must therefore provide a safeenvironment to facilitate disclosure with careful handling of the abusedindividual and their feelings. Women & Therapy, 2 (1), 77-81. The group leadermust have their own place to vent. S. K. Demographics suchas age, education, marital status and satisfaction, and previous therapyaffect outcomes. Use of support groups with adult female survivorsof child sexual abuse. The possibility that different stages oftreatment may require different group elements is a consideration.Treatment may need to include initial use of same-sex therapists, followedby the use of mixed-gender cotherapists to deal with more advanced issues. Journal of Family Psychology, 4(2), 151-166. While this may facilitate the working through of genderspecific issues, it may also result in a less optimal environment for thedisclosure of the abuse. Since running this type of grouptends to be emotionally demanding and training, co-leadership is encouragedas is the use of professional support and/or supervision. C. As the group progressed, the understanding that the incest victimwas indeed a survivor, in fact a freedom fighter, came to light for all.The group facilitated this experience and growth. Follette, V. Family treatment offers another form of group treatment for incestvictims. M., Alexander, P. Feminists argue that treatment of the incest victimmust focus on the incest itself and that any group treatment approach mustbe void of tendencies to focus on a patriarchal family system which ismaintained by a patriarchal society. Psychiatric Bulletin, 21(12), 754-756. Findings from an unstructuredprocess group showed that members reported improved social functioning.The authors conclude that research does provide some support for the use ofsupport groups for treatment of incest victims. Yamamoto, D. L., Snider, E., & Gorey, K. Previous therapyhistory also interacted with the type of group format and predictedoutcome. Previous research hasshown that social support moderates psychological distress following sexualassault and a social network immediately following the assault isparticularly important and results in less medical service utilization oneyear post-assault. The authorsfound that the studies tended to be descriptive or offer a case study, withonly three using pretest-posttest designs and appropriate statisticalanalysis of symptom improvement. A., & Lillie, B. The leader also assists in helping thevictim to focus on the here and now, since victims tend to be reluctant toexamine immediate experiences. Kimerling and Calhoun (1994) reported thatsexual assault victims tend to suffer from somatic complaints and seekmedical attention more than mental health care. Intra-family sexual abuse continues to be a concern and optimal treatment remainsa topic of discussion. (1994). Guilt and shameare prominent and may be manifested in poor body images or self-destructivebehaviors to include self-mutilation. The different types of groupsinvestigated include individualized group treatments, psychoanalytic andpsychodynamic group approaches, psycho-educational group formats, andinterpersonal process group therapies. This conclusion can beapplied to the incest victim who requires the social support found in agroup treatment situation, to overcome effects of this sexual assault. S. An introduction to the problem,characteristics of support group treatment of incest victims, the groupprocess, outcomes of support group treatment of incest victims, andconclusions will be included in this presentation. Families in Society, 75(4), 217-228. The outcome measure includeda 6 month follow-up. For this study a quasi-experimental design was used in an attemptto empirically demonstrate effects of group intervention. Introduction to The Problem Knight (1997) defines sexual abuse and/or incest as referring tosexual contact that takes place between a child and an individual that isin a position of power or authority, not restricted to a family member.Thus a critical part of the relationship which leads to abuse is thechild's powerlessness relative to the offender. Gender-specific anger, trust, sexuality, and competence are considered to beextremely important to victims of incest and it was concluded that theseissues can only be dealt with in this fashion. In a study of 65 abusedwomen participating in time-limited group therapy, outcomes were evaluatedwith regard to demographic variables, abuse history, familycharacteristics, and levels of depression and distress. (1999). While incest victims are reported to experienceand present with a specific list of symptoms such as depression, anxietyand relationship problems, the degree of dysfunction is found to vary.Some clinicians have reported that low levels of initial psychologicaldisturbance results in better treatment outcomes and others have reportedthe opposite, that higher initial levels of depression are associated withgreater treatment benefits. Secondly the group members are also encouraged to investigatetheir feelings and reactions towards each other. Marotta and Asner (1999) reviewed the literature and found thatstudies differed in methodology, reporting, and findings. Roesler, T. (1994). Although outcome studies of group support for treatment of incestvictims is lacking, group work as an intervention has been reviewed andrated. Thus consciousness is raised on all dimensions and the victimbecomes a survivor with power over personal situations and the capacity tochange or affect these situations. (199 ). In a clinical description of six boys whoexperienced extra- or intrafamilial sexual abuse, semi-structured grouptreatment resulted in decreases in depression and tendencies to internalizeor externalize behaviors, and increases in self-esteem. Abuse characteristics associated with more severe traumatend to include abuse from a father figure, penetration, and the use ofphysical force. The leaders ofsupport groups for incest victims have specific responsibilities. Journal ofChild Sexual Abuse, 4(2), 1-8. Findings of this study showed that education, maritalstatus, type of sexual contact, and initial levels of depression anddistress were predictors of response to treatment. (2 ). Victims, survivors, and veterans: A circle ofcourage. Clinical findings have shown that when a when a child is ableto tell the story of their abuse experience in depth, these recent memoriesare transformed and incorporated into their lives. Hack, T. Knight, C. ARE SUPPORT GROUPS EFFECTIVE FOR VICTIMS OF INCEST Literature Review Sexual abuse of children by family members continues to come to theattention of mental health professionals as does the exploration for themost appropriate treatment of incest. Boakes, J. K. Roesler and Lillie (1995) further report on the use of co-therapistsfor an adult survivor group, particularly the use of male/female co-therapists. Group support is viewed aspromoting validation, empowerment, empathy, and mutuality, which areimportant factors in the healing process. Social Work, 35(3), 2 2-2 6. Additionally, the groupmodality offers a form of social support which has been shown to overcomedistress and assist in healing. (1997). The adult incest victim faces sexuality issues, whichresult in relationship problems, sexual dysfunction, and/or promiscuity insome cases. Feelings of needing to remain secret arelessened and the child becomes more willing to share their experiences,feelings, and thoughts. (1997). Themixed cotherapist situation allowed for the issues related to each genderto be dealt with, for both males and females. However, overall,nonstandardized outcome measures did show that participants do improvefollowing group therapy and that these improvements are consistent overtime as demonstrated in follow-up cases. (1994). Research onSocial Work Practice, 7(1), 53-69. Since the body once betrayed thevictim by becoming sexually stimulated at the hand of the offender, thevictim may punish themselves and their bodies. Adultfemale incest survivors are vulnerable with feelings of inadequacy and lowself-esteem, lack of trust, and tendencies for interpersonal andintrapersonal difficulties. R., & Enright, R. This method is being explored within the group treatment modality.Dependent variables for this study were forgiveness, self-esteem, hope,depression, and anxiety. Neu, D. The perpetrator is usuallydefined as the child's caretaker, which ranges from parent to babysitter.The abuse includes a range of sexual activities to include fondling,masturbation, exposure to pornography, oral sex, and vaginal and analintercourse. Women survivors of childhood sexual abuse:Healing through group work, beyond survival. This paper investigates the questionas to whether support groups may offer the most effective modality fortreatment of incest victims. Group treatmentfor sexually abused preadolescent boys. Journal of InterpersonalViolence, 15(7), 776-778. The authors cautioned thattherapist gender is only one aspect to consider and that therapistcompetence, sensitivity, and experience are equally important. Forgiveness as anintervention goal with incest survivors. The increased feelings ofbelonging and self-worth then lead to increased trust in others andoptimism regarding the future. Emotional needs can be met in a group setting without theintensity of individual therapy. Richter, N. Findings showed that the experimental grouptherapy resulted in more forgiveness and hope and less depression andanxiety than did the control group. It was concluded that since victims tendto seek medical attention more than support, they are not receiving theattention that is needed to overcome the assault. They are able to cometo terms with the abuse and therefore reclaim their futures. Additionally, offender characteristics oraspects of the sex act have been shown to affect the severity of the traumaand its impact. These conclusions, although possibly based on weak substantiation,present valuable information for the counselor treating incest victims.The continued use of group support for treatment of incest is recommended.Future studies will need to explore group and individual characteristicsthat affect group treatment outcomes, such as the use of a mixed gendercotherapist. The authors studied the moderating effects of socialsupport on physical and emotional distress for the victim. (1996). The treatmentgroup was compared to a waiting list control. Thus the goalof therapy is to assist the victim in returning to the pain. The group described met once a week,during the winter, in a windowless basement room of a women's shelter,downtown in a small town, where winters were cold. Women's empowerment through feminist rituals.Women & Therapy, 16(2-3), 185-194. A group member began to tell her story anddescribed herself as a child waiting with a razor in her hand to killherself should he put his hands on her again. They tend to distance themselves from others,accepting responsibility for the sexual abuse and suffering from guilt,depression, and isolation. Therefore while controversy may continueregarding details such as the need for mixed gender cotherapist leadershipof the group, it is concluded that support groups are effective for victimsof incest. This will lead to an examination of currentinteractions with other group members. Boakes (1997) reported that in a study of 3 incest survivors, grouptherapy resulted in individual satisfaction with improvements but from theexternal view, these patients appeared to have deteriorated. deYoung, M., & Corbin, B. Outcomes of Support Group Treatment of Incest Victims Follette, Alexander, and Follette (1991) report that individual andfamily characteristics affect treatment outcomes. (1997). The leader originallyapproached the group feeling confident, based on her previous experienceand developed expertise. Single gender groups were conducted with mixedgender cotherapists. D. Additionally, Hack, Osachuk, andDeLuca (1994) report that group treatment is also effective for sexuallyabused preadolescent boys. By being present as a real self, moderating theirown disclosure, the group leader models this real self behavior and assistsothers in behaving similarly. Groups also tend to lead to empowerment of women. The present tends to include interactions that reflectmistrust and needs for isolation (Knight, 1997). Somesurvivors of incest may be suicidal, psychotic, substance abusing, oracutely aggressive or withdrawn, and these victims would be a poor risk forthe group. Groups help the victim to understand that theirfeelings, beliefs, and actions are not crazy. Slaying the dragon: The useof male/female co-therapists for adult survivor group therapy. A. Richter, Snider, and Gorey (1997) noted that evaluation of group workwith incest survivors is lacking and most studies are qualitative innature. S., & Fish, L. Anecdotal evidence isoffered as proof of group intervention efficacy. G., & De Luca, R. (199 ). Characteristics of Support Group Treatment of Incest Victims Group therapy refers to an experience that takes place in a group andthis experience has a dual focus for victims of incest. The group is particularly helpful for the child in eithersituation. While some clinicians report that incest victims need to betreated by a therapist of their same gender, others believe that a mixedgender cotherapy situation is optimal for single gender groups of eithermales or females. Theexperimental intervention was forgiveness intervention. (1997). For this study 39 people, male and female, participatedin a group therapy process. A. Victims tend to feel powerless and helpless inrelationships fearing further abuse. Findings showed that the gender mix of the therapistsremained an ongoing theme in the groups allowing for many issues to bedealt with, such as joining, trust, anger, competence, and sexuality. L. Ratican, K. References Barrett, M. Forexample, the leader creates the group and its composition and structure.They must utilize the knowledge that many survivors are not capable ofhandling the intense emotions that may take place in the group. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.