How Therapy Mitigates the Effects of Child Abuse

Abuse has remained a major dilemma in child development. Throughout history, experts have attempted to find solutions for the negative effects of a violent environment on children. While temporary solutions exist, a permanent resolution to child abuse remains elusive. Among the suggested treatment options, psychiatric and therapeutic treatment for both the abuser and the abused has proven to be most effective due to the inhibitory effects therapy has on the otherwise common violent tendencies of previous abuse victims and the positive effects of therapy and psychiatry on an individual’s mood. 

Child Abuse Leading to Violence 

Children – especially in younger ages – typically rely on observational learning. A child will mimic, replicate, and even build upon the behaviors of the people around them. The environment a child is brought up in directly impacts the child’s future personality and decision-making. Emily A. Greenfield – PhD holding researcher at Rutgers University and professor and director of the Hub for Aging Collaboration – studied this phenomenon. In doing so, Greenfield asserted that “physical and psychological violence in childhood from parents… [is] a risk factor for [an] adults’ psychological distress” (2010). Greenfield’s research serves as a possible explanation for the violent behaviors exhibited by past victims of abuse. 

The distress that springs from a victim's past trauma typically leads to violent decisions. Recent research in Korea has found that “child abuse is a serious adverse childhood experience that can deteriorate self-control which possibly harms the capacity to deal with stressors among adolescents” (Kim et al., 2024). Victims of child abuse, if not properly treated for their mental illnesses, are prone to making regrettable life decisions due to the psychological distress Greenfield analyzed. It becomes increasingly imperative that intervention is needed to help abuse victims.  Therapy offers a structured outlet for individuals to process their emotions and receive guidance which would greatly benefit abuse victims.

Furthermore, future abuse cases may be prevented as well. The Guardian argues that “reducing the incidence of abuse in the short term would have the knock-on effect of reducing the number of adults likely to become abusers in the decades ahead” (Moorhead). As Greenfield found, abuse victims often have difficulty processing emotions, tending to resort to the familiar violence the victims experienced. Due to this, many abuse victims tend to become abusers. Children observe the abusive nature of the parent and replicate that nature. This leads to a cycle of abuse that can only be broken with therapy. Therapy can help provide a channel for the previously abused, giving proper advice and treatment to deal with the victim’s troubles. Through therapy, abuse victims can learn to control their violence, resulting in fewer repeat abuse cases. 

Effects of Therapy on an Individual 

 A study published in the highly regarded open-access scientific journal, BMC Public Health, found parental domestic abuse, mental illness, and substance use to negatively impact parenting capacity, child internalizing and externalising behavior, and can result in a range of adverse ailments for the child (Allen et al., 2024). However, these effects do not have to be permanent. Through therapeutic and psychiatric treatment, children raised in such adverse conditions can still grow to be well-functioning adults. Through their healing, victims can also learn to not become abusers themselves, thus breaking the aforementioned cycle of abuse Moorhead examined.

Therapy can greatly help to heal the mental scars of abused victims. Stephen Davies – in his well regarded academic journal “The Late-life Psychological Effects of Childhood Abuse” – explains the negative effects of unhealed trauma as an abused child ages: “[t]hose with dementia may be left undefended against their traumatic memories” (2003). However, this dilemma could be avoided with therapeutic treatment. Treating trauma is what many mental health specialists  like therapists and psychiatrists specialize in. With the right treatment, the victim can move on and live life as a functional adult. Therapy greatly assists with turning past abuse victims into well-functioning adults. 

Worldwide Treatment 

Experts in many practices have long debated the severity of the issue and how to treat the child. Replace “the severity of the issue…..” with “the severity of child abuse and the effectiveness of therapy as a treatment”. Critics of therapy as a treatment to abuse argue that there simply is no way to treat people in certain countries. According to a specialist in psychiatric research, Antonios Paraschakis, “Counseling and psychotherapy [in North Korea] are… non-existent” (2015). However, these critics fail to realize the implications of these cases in oppressed countries. Hee Jin Kim, a professor studying the disparities between North and South Korea whose research I had brought up prior found that “53% of North Korean refugees’ caregivers reported past minor physical child abuse and 22% of them reported past severe physical abuse” (2024). Kim’s findings show the effect of a lack of therapy on an abused population. Without available therapy, the country’s abuse rates are abnormally higher than more developed, democratic nations like the U.S. While there may be other circumstances impacting the abuse rates in North Korea, it remains important to consider what effects implementing therapy would have on the country. If diplomatic agreement could be reached, countries such as North Korea may be able to accommodate therapeutic treatments for the country’s abused population.

Abuse is not limited to just specific areas of the world. It is a  widespread issue that affects millions  globally. In one of Adrián García-Mollá’s numerous academic journals regarding child maltreatment, Mollá asserts that “[c]hild maltreatment is a significant global problem concerning over 25% of children around the world” (2024). While statistics may vary from country to country, the fact remains that the global abuse quandary affects approximately 1 in 4 children worldwide. While it may be difficult, there must be action taken to implement therapy in countries which do not have adequate access to mental health resources. Abuse is a worldwide issue  and addressing it on a global scale requires accessible therapeutic interventions.

Conclusion 

Child abuse is a serious dilemma that affects a large amount of children worldwide. The National Library of Medicine found that “[e]xposure to early maltreatment, especially during preschool (i.e. between 3–5 years of age), was most strongly associated with depression” (2020). Mental health treatment through therapy and psychiatry can serve to help rehabilitate and adjust victims of  child abuse to society and mitigate the effects of the depression the victims suffer. If the trauma of a victim’s abuse is left untreated, the victim would have increased difficulty managing emotions and forming healthy relationships. To free victims of abuse around the world from the torment of past abuse, therapeutic treatment is necessary. The scientific community  strongly advocates for supporting abuse survivors through evidence-based interventions. 

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Written by Ryan Jom

References:

• Allen, K., Melendez-Torres, G. J., Ford, T., Bonell, 

  C., & Berry, V. (2024). Parental domestic violence and abuse, mental ill-health, and substance misuse and the impact on child mental health: a secondary data analysis using the UK Millennium Cohort Study. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1–15. 

  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19694-1 

• A. Paraschakis, A. Katsanos, A Glimpse into North 

  Korea's Psychiatric Care System, European Psychiatry, Volume 30, Supplement 1, 2015, Page 1837, ISSN 0924-9338, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-9338(15)32114-3. 

• Davies, S. (2003). The Late-Life Psychological 

  Effects of Childhood Abuse. Current Medical Literature: Pediatrics, 16(2), 61–65. 

  García-Mollá, A., Carbonell, Á., Navarro-Pérez, J. 

  J., & Tomás, J. M. (2024). Development and Validation of the Adolescent and Children in Risk of Abuse and Maltreatment Protective Factors Scale (ACRAM-PFS). Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 41(5), 789–801. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00908-7 

• Greenfield, E. A., & Marks, N. F. (2010). Sense of

  Community as a Protective Factor against Long‐Term Psychological Effects of Childhood Violence. Social Service Review, 84(1), 129–147. 

  https://doi.org/10.1086/652786 

• Kim, H. J., Yang, S., & Park, D. (2024). Routes Out 

  of Child Abuse to School Adjustments: A Comparison Between North Korean Adolescent Refugees and Native South Korean Adolescents. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 41(4), 605–616. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00885-x Lippard ETC, Nemeroff CB. The Devastating 

• Clinical Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect: Increased Disease Vulnerability and Poor Treatment Response in Mood Disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 2020 Jan 1;177(1):20-36. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19010020. Epub 2019 Sep 20. PMID: 31537091; PMCID: PMC6939135. 

  Moorhead, J. (2013, September 17). Breaking the cycle of abuse.

• The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/17/breaking-the-cycle-of-abuse