Treatment of Child and Adult Survivors

First published in 1995. This is Volume five of a series that looks at the developmental stages in addressing the complex and social problem of child abuse. The articles in this volume address the treatment of child victims and adult survivors of childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and neglect. Where physical abuse is concerned treatment of victims and survivors lagged far behind the treatment of sexual abuse victims and survivors. This may be due in part to the fact that in cases of physical abuse—with its physical manifestations that heal—more attention is paid to the immediate physical safety of children than to their short- and long-term emotional needs. Thereafter, the focus of treatment tended to be on parents—in hopes of preventing further abuse—rather than on the abused children.