Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Child Abuse
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The abused child who has taken upon him/herself the malevolence of the parent in order to maintain a good internal image of him/herself will suffer from low self-esteem, may have little autonomy, and will lack the ability to differentiate self from other.
“Furthermore, the abused child who has taken upon him/herself the malevolence of the parent in order to maintain a good internal image of him/herself will suffer from low self-esteem, may have little autonomy, and will lack the ability to differentiate self from other [22].”
From Psychoanalytic Interventions with Abusive Parents: An Opportunity for Children’s Mental Health (2022) · cites this paper as [22]
When the child does not have the opportunity to rely on other sensitive and caring adults, he/she is mostly forced to deny the malevolence of the abusive parent to protect his/her internal parental image, often blames him/herself, and this may lead the child to enact disturbing behaviors.
“When the child does not have the opportunity to rely on other sensitive and caring adults, he/she is mostly forced to deny the malevolence of the abusive parent to protect his/her internal parental image.”
From Psychoanalytic Interventions with Abusive Parents: An Opportunity for Children’s Mental Health (2022) · cites this paper as [22]
Sometimes the removal of the child can have an ego-supportive effect if the social worker does not have a punitive attitude, but this effect can be achieved if he/she shows a genuinely protective attitude.
“Tuohy [22] observes that sometimes the removal of the child can have an ego-supportive effect if the social worker does not have a punitive attitude, but, on the contrary, this effect can be achieved if he/she shows a genuinely protective attitude by communicating to the parent that he/she cannot allow him/her to harm him/herself and/or the child and that he/she intends to protect his/her family”
From Psychoanalytic Interventions with Abusive Parents: An Opportunity for Children’s Mental Health (2022) · cites this paper as [22]
The risk of burnout is very high in the treatment of these patients.
“The risk of burnout is very high in the treatment of these patients, and to combat it, Tuohy [22] suggests the constant presence of supervisor support, peer support through frequent case presentations, and the possibility of engaging in other professional activities, e.g., intervention planning, teaching, research, and training.”
From Psychoanalytic Interventions with Abusive Parents: An Opportunity for Children’s Mental Health (2022) · cites this paper as [22]
Emotional regulation deficits are transmitted from one generation to the next, leading to a vicious cycle.
“Emotional regulation deficits are also transmitted from one generation to the next: If the mother does not protect her child from stimuli she is unable to tolerate, the child will not develop the normal integrative functions of the ego, will easily cry inconsolably, will suffer from sleep and feeding disorders, and will show general restlessness. He/she will thus be a hard-to-manage child who will”
From Psychoanalytic Interventions with Abusive Parents: An Opportunity for Children’s Mental Health (2022) · cites this paper as [22]
In cases where the abusive parent was abused, the mother failed to act as a supplementary stimulus barrier and subjected the parent to traumatic overstimulation that impaired emotional regulation capacity.
“In cases where the abusive parent was him/herself abused, not only did his/her mother fail to act as a supplementary stimulus barrier by protecting him/her from stimuli he/she was not yet able to tolerate but she subjected him/her to traumatic overstimulation that impaired the development of emotional regulation capacity [22].”
From Psychoanalytic Interventions with Abusive Parents: An Opportunity for Children’s Mental Health (2022) · cites this paper as [22]
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“Tuohy [22] notes that working with abusive parents is narcissistically depleting for the therapist, given that these families have very profound needs, frequent crises, and intense negative transference reactions.”
BackgroundInfluentialThe “Negative” Holding Environment in Child Treatment
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Childhood Maltreatment Over Generations
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- Authors
- Tuohy, A. L.
- Affiliations
- Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (US)
- Corresponding author
- Tuohy, Anne L.
- Venue
- Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal
- Published
- 1987
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 25-40
- ISSN
- 0738-0151 (ISSN-L)
- 0738-0150
- 1573-2797
- OpenAlex
- W2075014738
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 1.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Keywords
- child abuse, psychoanalytic theory, ego psychology, object relations theory, self psychology, symbiosis, separation-individuation, defense mechanisms, scapegoating, protectiveness, primitive defenses, countertransference, burnout, abusive parents
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