Kara Amey

S00550307
English 2010-051
Prof. James Beatty
11/2/2014

Emotional Abuse Proposal

Abuse can have many forms and can include anything from neglect to physical abuse.
Unlike physical abuse, emotional abuse is one form that is hard to identify and can have
damaging long term effects. Children who are affected by emotional abuse will grow up
becoming future members of society shaping it either into a positive society or a negative one.
Emotional Abuse usually includes behaviors like humiliation, intimidation, threats,
insults or constant monitoring. It will often stem from negative relationships between the
offender and the victim. The most prominent relationships are between two partners or parent
and their child. A negative relationship with emotional abuse may halt or destroy what
capabilities the victim has to manage their feelings and behaviors. Understanding the damage
emotional abuse can do to its victims and resolve the problem may help better societys future
and keep its members productive.
A person who has been subject to constant mental and emotional abuse can develop long
term effects. Emotional abuse is harmful because of the persistent pattern that erodes and
corrodes a child (Garbarino,1994). The person may develop destructive behaviors such as
drug/alcohol abuse or negative relationships. Many times the abusive cycle repeats and those
who were subject to emotional abuse end up becoming the abuser to those vulnerable in their

lives. These victims will have low self-esteem and not feel worthy of anything. They also have
an increased risk of developing major depression compared to those who have not been subjected
to emotional abuse (Sharpero, 2014).When emotional abuse is not treated it can damage the
victims ability to become a part of a functioning society, creating less reliable workers and more
neglectful parents.
These victims have a hard time functioning because of low self-esteem, poor life choices,
stress and or depression. These victims may become parents, partners or workers and if they are
not able to confront their abuse, the effects may hurt those around them. These could result in
parents who may neglect their childrens needs because they feel their own needs have not been
met. It could be the spouse who constantly belittles the other because of their own insecurities.
All of these results from emotional abuse that was not taken care of and overcome by the victim.
However, adults have a better chance or receiving help than children do. Adults are able
to remove themselves from the abusive situation and get themselves into resources that may help
their situations. Children are not so lucky. They cannot walk away from an abusive relationship
from a parent or guardian. They rely on these people to take care and provide for them as they
are not able to do so on their own. Children may not know how or where to go to in order to
receive the help they need with their situation.
Unfortunately, emotional abuse alone is one form of abuse that is most difficult to
identify and stop. Child protective services must have evidence that harm has been done to a
child before they can step in and intervene. Its very hard to diagnose if a child has been belittled
or threatened compared to if the child has a black eye or broken arm. Unlike physical abuse,
emotional abuse doesnt result in physical evidence or signs of neglect. The victim needs to be

willing to come forward and let someone know. This can be hard if a child is not sure who or
where to turn to.
In regards to this, therapy can be very beneficial to those who have been victimized.
These victims will have to learn how to love and value themselves all over again. By going to
therapy, independent parties can help a victim develop a positive outlook on themselves rather
than the negative one they were used to. Most child victims may not like feeling the way they do
after abuse but are not sure how to fix the problem. A neutral party like therapy can help direct
victims. Programs similar to the Boys and Girls Club can help lift abused childrens selfesteem and teach them to be more confident with themselves and those around them.
Also, children who have suffered emotional abuse can restart to love themselves again
and view themselves in a more positive light with how the responsible adults interacts with them.
Children who are victims of emotional abuse may benefit from individual therapy that focuses
on rebuilding self-esteem and autonomy. By gaining an understanding of what healthy
relationships look like, they can begin to appreciate the dysfunctional way in they have been
raised. (www.goodtherapy.org) By having an understanding of emotional abuse and knowing
how to treat it may be very beneficial to those participating in the program.
A program created similar to the Boys and Girls Club with responsible adults
interacting one on one with children may provide positive influences needed to help with abused
victims. If children who have struggled with their abuse and have an adult they can trust, they
may be more willing to open up about issues they are struggling with. Emotional abuse is so hard
to diagnose as it does not leave physical marks. Unless the victim is willing to open up about the
problem, it cannot be fixed. Having a program like this may allow those to open up and receive
the treatment they need.

However, this kind of program could back fire allowing adults who have ill intentions to
interact with children. These kinds of programs could allow further abuse in many other forms.
Children could be at risk by having a one on one relationship with an adult who is not
responsible and could be taken advantage of which could cause more damage. There would need
to be a lot of supervision among the adults and children. It may be beneficial to have group
activities in which many adult-child groups are together and adults are not left alone with
children.
Society will need to be the main force behind this change. Getting this type of program
started will require some government assistance with regulation. It could be part of a school
program with those who have some kind of childhood education background. Those with a
counseling background would be very beneficial as well as they would be able to interact with
the children and help them to open up. Children who have been traumatized by emotional abuse
are often reluctant to share the details of their abuse, and may respond best to treatments that
include creative play, such as art therapy, sand therapy of trauma relief therapy.
(www.goodtherapy.org)
In order to proceed with this program, many volunteers will be needed or it will need to
be a funded organization. Any adult that volunteers or is hired to work in the program will need
to go through a back ground check to prevent any other abuse from going on. This program will
need to have lots of supervision and just make sure that more abuse. It would also require
permission from parents and guardians to allow their children to participate in these kinds of
programs in order for children to gain some kind of trust in adults.
Emotional abuse can be devastating for its victims and their loved ones. Its only by
providing a willing ear and some kindness that the results of emotional abuse can be reversed

and overcome. Society needs to grow from those who know that they are of great value and have
amazing things to attribute to those around them. By realizing that emotional abuse is a problem
with horrible results, society can help correct this behavior and help those in need. Victims of
emotional abuse should not have to suffer in silence when an answer to the problem is so simple.

References

Garbarino, J., & Garbarino, An Emotional Maltreatment of Children. Chicago: National

Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, 2nd Ed. (1994).
Shapero, Benjamin G., et al. "Stressful Life Events And Depression Symptoms: The
Effect Of Childhood Emotional Abuse On Stress Reactivity." Journal Of Clinical
Psychology 70.3 (2014): 209-223. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
http://www.goodtherapy.org/therapy-for-emotional-abuse.html