Theories of Counseling Quiz 5 Part 1 Emotional Abuse/Abuse Counselling Flashcard

Emotional abuse: 1) runs gamut from verbal abuse and criticism to intimidation, manipulation, refusal to be pleased.
2) Systematically erodes victim’s self-confidence, self-worth, trust in her own perceptions and self-concept.

Emotional abuse is misuse of power and control, and is similar to brainwashing, in that it cuts to core of a person’s identity, and creates lasting emotional scars. Emotional abuse is common theme underlying all kinds of abuse. Instills fear, creates dependency, and damages self-esteem.

Abusive expectations: unreasonable demands placed on victim, with expectation that victim will do everything possible to satisfy abuser’s needs.

1. Domination: need to be in charge, control every aspect of another person’s life

Economic deprivation: attempts to control finances, increase financial dependency.

1. Emotional blackmail: manipulating victim into doing what abuser wants by playing on guilt, compassion, or fear. Withdrawal of affection, sulking, ignoring, silent treatment.
2. Jealousy and possessiveness: spying, monitoring phone calls, restricting movements outside the home, accusations of infidelity.
3. Minimization and denial: downplaying extent or impact of violence or abuse; questioning victim’s sanity, perceptions, feelings.

Neglect: failing to provide essentials for physical, emotional, and intellectual development. Failure to provide safe environment or needed medical care

1. Pornography: portrays women and children as sex objects, often implies that violence in conjunction with sex is enjoyable to victims.

Sexual harassment: assault, unwelcome advances, pressures.

1. Threats: to harm self, partner, children, friends, pets, relatives.

Verbal assaults: berating, belittling, sarcasm, name calling, screaming, threatening, blaming, humiliating.

1. 1) Neglectful parent: does not meet basic needs of child. May be result of SA. Child is forced to take on parental responsibilities, may carry anger and resentment into adult life.
2. 
   
3. 2) Critical/Abusive parent: hypercritical of child. Enmeshed parent becomes extremely permissive, while other parent becomes abusive and jealous. Enmeshed indicates 'closeness'; 'Estranged' indicates distance!
4. 3) Sexualizing parent: “Cinderella syndrome.” Child’s relationship with bonded parent is romantic, similar to dating. Parent is sexually and emotionally fixated on child. Sometimes actual incest occurs.
5. 
   

1. 1) Active listening: empathic and accepting. Atmosphere must be safe and supportive. Counselor must accept account of abuse calmly and non-judgmentally. They are not to blame; you are willing to listen.
1. 2) Assertiveness training: can increase self-esteem and sense of control over lives, move them from passive or aggressive responses to more balanced behaviors.

1. 3) Educate and share information: discuss cycle of abuse. Discuss power/control basis of abuse. Provide information about services (shelters, counseling, legal services); make referrals when necessary/applicable
1. 4) Ensure Safety: determine lethality of situation. Encourage client to develop a safety or escape plan and commit to using it. Help them to learn warning signs and heed them.
5) Medical attention: if client has been physically or sexually abused, she may require medical attention. Important for documentation, if victim decides to press charges. Also test for pregnancy, STD’s in cases of sexual abuse/rape. Many victims are ashamed to seek medical attention on their own.
2. 6) Normalize feelings: show clients that they are not alone, their fear is appropriate, and that nothing they say or do can justify violence towards them. Reinforce seeking help.
1. 7) Referral: Know your limitations. If client’s trauma is outside your scope of practice, make appropriate referrals.
1. 8) Self-defense: can help save client’s life. Caveat: can also enrage an attacker, give an “excuse” for escalated violence, even murder.
1. 9) Support: encourage clients to express emotions. They may feel nostalgia for the relationship; do not make their decisions for them, even if you think they should leave the relationship. It is their decision (empowerment, not dependency). Do not criticize abuser; client may have ambivalent feelings. Cycle between open-ended questions and reflecting/clarifying victim’s feelings.

1. 1) Degree of intimacy between survivor and assailant
2. 2) Age of the individual at onset of abuse and extent of time over which abuse occurred
3. 3) Intrusiveness of the abuse
4. 4) Manner in which individual was inducted into the sexual activity

misuse of power and control

Stage one: Tensions begin to build; abuser experiences decreasing ability to cope with stressors and relationship becomes strained. Stage two: violence erupts (battering) Stage three: Honeymoon phase,” when abuser feels sorry for behavior, promises it will never happen again. After a while, relationship returns to first stage and cycle begins again.

The honeymoon period is the phase early in a long-term relationship with a person, place or thing that is characterized by greater than typical joy.

1) Abusers often suffer from low self-esteem,
2) Have inadequate coping skills.
3) Abusive men see partner’s actions as threat to their self-image. Competence in partner also perceived as a threat.

1) Sexual abuse carries social stigma AND moral prejudice.

2) Crises resulting from sexual abuse are different in nature, intensity, and extent from other forms of abuse. Very difficult to predict how survivor will react to abuse. Since only 20% of sexual assaults are by strangers, victims of sexual abuse often knew their abusers intimately and trusted them. About 39% of all women have been sexually assaulted at least once. Majority of sexual assaults involve power relationships between males and females (husbands and wives, dating couples).
3) Some men feel absence of power in lives, feel need and entitlement to take it from women.

Four social causes:
1) gender inequality;
2) pornography;
3)social disorganization (see prevalence of rape as a weapon of war);
4) legitimization of violence.