Treatment Strategies for Abused Adolescents

From Victim to Survivor

Helping teens to work through trauma resolution and emerge as healthy survivors can prove frustrating for therapists who find there is so little material or references available for this age group. By adolescence, boys and girls have already identified themselves with the role of victim and skilled support is required if they are to move beyond their perceived helplessness to achieve a real sense of empowerment and control of their lives. As an outgrowth of their own professional struggles with this issue, Cheryl L. Karp, Traci L. Butler, and Sage C. Bergstrom have compiled Treatment Strategies for Abused Adolescents and the accompanying activity manual, which together provide a practical and accessible package of theory and hands-on activities, specifically designed for use by practitioners in either individual or group settings. Case studies are included in each chapter of the treatment manual to demonstrate just how some of the activities have been used in actual therapeutic situations and the authors highlight their four-phase approach to recovery that covers building the therapeutic relationship, processing the abuse, repairing the sense of self, and becoming more "future oriented." Providing the major tools needed to successfully work with this age group as they journey toward healing, Treatment Strategies for Abused Adolescents and its companion activity manual are truly a must-have package for mental health practitioners as well as advanced students and interns who work with physically, sexually, and emotionally abused teenagers.