The Therapeutic Treatment Provided in Cases Involving Physical Child Abuse: a Description of Current Practices

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the therapeutic treatment provided by mental health practitioners in cases involving physical child abuse to describe generally the amount and type of treatment provided to the abused child and other significant people involved in the abuse.

Method: An instrument was designed to determine what therapeutic treatment was provided by practitioners in the previous year and sent to 689 mental health workers in the state of Kentucky: Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Clinical Members of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and Kentucky Department of Social Services Caseworkers.

Results: The family was seen as the primary client most frequently with the focus of therapy being to provide a safe environment for the child or to improve family relationships. Abused children were found to receive only seven of the 23 sessions generally provided in these cases to overcome the deleterious effects of the abuse.

Conclusions: The findings indicate that physically abused children may need more treatment to overcome their traumatic experiences. Since the family and the perpetrator have therapeutic requirements, these services need to be additional sessions. While the safety of the child is of paramount importance, the victim needs appropriate and effective treatment to surmount the detrimental consequences of the maltreatment.