Therapy can help young children recover from abuse

December 22, 2007|By VICKI ROCK

Daily American Staff Writer

People who abuse their spouses or their children may do so for a variety of reasons, said Dr. Glenn Kashurba, a Somerset psychiatrist.

Some may have a temper control problem. Others use drugs or alcohol, which will decrease their inhibitions. Still others just don't care about other people, he said.

“The more extreme cases - those that are a repetitive process, intentional torture - those people are just bad people or cruel people who like to inflict pain on people whom they have control over,” he said.


He has no idea what the issues are in the recent child abuse case in Somerset, he said.

“There are some people who take advantage of weak people,” Kashurba said. “If they were themselves abused, they still can't use that to excuse their behavior. Some have antisocial personality disorders and they don't care what they do to others. If they do it repetitively, they must enjoy it at some level, versus it being impulsive because of drugs or alcohol.”

Children are able to recover from abuse, depending on what happens to them in the future, he said.

“Younger children do better because they have more time to recover,” he said. “Some young children may not have specific memories of the abuse. From a psychological perspective, children have a decent opportunity to recover. The question always is, will the child get treatment and will he be safe? We see so many cases of repetitive abuse - the child is sent back to the same parents and abused again. Unfortunately, the system is to the parents' advantage, not the child's.”

A big advantage when the victim is a young child is that he won't have to testify in court, Kashurba said. When a child has to testify, he has to face his abuser and is retraumatized because he has to remember what happened and to talk about it.

Janie Olsen, outpatient therapist at Somerset Hospital who was previously with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, said she sees children who are victims of abuse, but children are taken to therapists for various reasons.

They could have attention deficit disorder, development issues, behavior problems or school issues. Some who have chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, may have trouble adjusting.

“My approach for the smaller kids is to use play therapy and talk therapy,” she said. “As they get older, they learn the therapist is someone they can talk to and share their thoughts with.”

Play, including games and drawing, is helpful in children's therapy because they express themselves easier that way. The length of time they are in therapy depends on what the child's needs are and, at times, the insurance the family has.

An abused child's outcome depends on many factors: How severe the abuse was and if it was a one time occurrence or if it happened multiple times over years. It also depends on the treatment received, she said. Some children get rescued when an adult stops the abuse and makes sure the perpetrator can't abuse the child again.

“When a child is rescued, and that is my term for it, they will understand that it wasn't their fault and they then feel protected and safe,” Olsen said. “Unfortunately, many grow up and were never rescued. They either didn't tell anyone they trusted or they were punished for telling. This can be physical abuse, neglect or emotional abuse. The bottom line is the attention paid to the child after he is rescued and the treatment he receives,” she said.

(Vicki Rock can be reached at

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