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Micah Sneed
EDST 2450
Reflection Paper
In my future pursuit of the social work career, my biggest passion has
become working with children who have psychological and behavioral
disorders. Growing up, I had my own psychological issues that caused me to
act out in very destructive ways. In retrospect, I know now that if someone
were there to help me, things would have been a lot easier. Now that I am
old enough, I want to fill that spot for kids who need help the most. In doing
research, I realized that the best way to improve my abilities as a future
counselor would be to focus on the topic that makes me feel the most
uncomfortable. Many people avoid such discomfort, but in confronting my
emotions, I know that I can become so much better. The horrible experiences
of myself and many others I know have shown me that the topic of child
abuse is not something that can just be ignored. It exists, whether we feel
comfortable or not, and more work needs to be done to combat such a
destructive force that robs people of their own childhood. That's why my
question is focused on treatment: What are some potentially effective
intervention strategies for child abuse victims under the age of 13?
Originally, my research was focused on how to identify the signs of
child abuse. After going through the literature, I found that the signs and
symptoms are so basic and intuitive that it seemed unnecessary. Any decent
teacher would learn those signs and all of the information on that topic is

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only enough to fill half of a page. I figured it would be much more beneficial
to instead focus on what I can personally do to help the situations for victims
of child abuse.
The first piece of research on this topic is based on physical abuse, and
it is titled, Child Physical Abuse-Experiences of Combined Treatment for
Children and their Parents: A Pilot Study. This piece of research did a very
good job at showing the value of using cognitive-behavioral therapy to help
child abuse victims. The important part of this study is that they emphasized
the value of involving the abusive caregiver in this process. While the child is
learning how to cope, the caregiver is learning about healthy, non-violent
parenting strategies. Even if CBT doesn't work for some people, this is a
huge theme for child abuse counseling. Even if a child abuse victim is taught
how to deal with abusive situations, it doesn't necessarily stop the action
from stopping. By including the abuser, we have the opportunity to find ways
to keep abuse from even happening. If successful, a few months with that
approach would be so much more effective than countless years of abuse
victim counseling.
The second piece of research focuses more on child sexual abuse(CSA),
an experience that is arguably more psychologically traumatizing. This
article, titled Extrafamilial Sexual Abuse: Treatment for Child Victims and
their Families, follows the approach of group therapy. Just like the previous
study, this one also incorporates parents. Though the parents were not the
offenders, it still proved valuable because it taught them how to help their

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children through the experience and to teach them how to allow themselves
to move on. The group therapy approach also seems beneficial because it
allows the CSA victims to have the support of others who have experienced
similar events. Many victims feel they are alone and that nobody could ever
understand, so the support of others who can sympathize can be very
beneficial for the healing process. By far, the most important theme from this
literature is the presence of parents. Children look up to their parents, and
the presence of the offending and non-offending caregivers is the best way
to show the child that he or she is supported in that healing process and an
amazing opportunity to find ways to ensure that the abuse doesn't continue.
Many say that kids should be permanently removed from abusive
households, but being pulled from their home lives and placed in a
dangerously flawed foster care systems can potentially be even more
traumatizing than the abuse. Foster care should be a last resort if a child's
life or safety is truly in danger. Our primary concern should be trying to
improve household conditions in order to allow the child the possibility of
healthy future without losing everyone they ever loved for an experience
they couldn't control.
This research is very strongly supported by Vygotsky's Zone of
Proximal Development (ZPD). According to this perspective, A Childs zone
of proximal development includes learning and problem-solving abilities that
are just beginning to emerge and develop (Ormrod 39). Though this can
apply to the child working with a counselor, it can apply even more to their

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parents. The research heavily emphasizes the need for parental involvement
in abuse counseling, and there is a reason. A child can learn some coping
strategies, but with the help of a caregiver, they can achieve so much more.
This research project has really helped me in my pursuit of child
counseling. Though I don't know exactly what setting I will work in(school,
counseling service, private practice, etc.), I know that this information will be
very valuable. It has especially taught me the value of taking a child's
perspective in mind, and finding whatever method benefits them most,
rather than sticking to some conventional methods that simply do not work.
When given the choice between comfortably going through the motions
(even if they don't work) and working hard to find more effective ways to
help a child meet their needs, I will always choose the child. After all, service
work is not for me. It is for them.

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References
Grosz, Candace A., Ruth S. Kempe, and Michele Kelly. "Extrafamilial Sexual
Abuse: Treatment

for Child Victims and their Families." Child abuse &

neglect 24.1 (2000): 9-23.

Kjellgren, C., Svedin, C. G., & Nilsson, D. (2013). Child Physical Abuse
Experiences of Combined

Treatment for Children and their Parents: A Pilot

Study. Child Care In Practice, 19(3),

275-290.

doi:10.1080/13575279.2013.785934
Ormrod, J. E. (2011). Educational psychology: Developing learners 8th Edition.
Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.