If You Have Suffered a motor accident, whiplash injury, accident at work, medical negligence, faulty goods, criminal injury, slip or trip, industrial injury, accident in a public place or
would just like some advice, please don't hesitate to give us a call on 08000 71 22 71 for any personal injury, medical negligence, road traffic accident, no win no fee accident claims
Victims of abuse in all its forms - verbal, emotional, financial, physical, and
sexual - are often disorientated. They require not only therapy to heal their
emotional wounds, but also practical guidance and topical education. At first,
the victim is, naturally, distrustful and even hostile. The therapist or case
worker must establish confidence and rapport painstakingly and patiently.
The therapeutic alliance requires constant reassurance that the environment and
treatment modalities chosen are safe and supportive. This is not easy to do,
partly because of objective factors such as the fact that the records and notes
of the therapist are not confidential. The offender can force their disclosure
in a court of law simply by filing a civil lawsuit against the survivor!
The first task is to legitimize and validate the victim's fears. This is done by
making clear to her that she is not responsible for her abuse or guilty for what
happened. Victimization is the abuser's fault - it is not the victim's choice.
Victims do not seek abuse - although, admittedly some of them keep finding
abusive partners and forming relationships of codependence. Facing,
reconstructing, and reframing the traumatic experiences is a crucial and
indispensable first phase.
The therapist should present the victim with her own ambivalence and the
ambiguity of her messages - but this ought to be done gently, non-judgementally,
and without condemnation. The more willing and able the abuse survivor is to
confront the reality of her mistreatment (and the offender), the stronger she
would feel and the less guilty.
Typically, the patient's helplessness decreases together with her self-denial.
Her self-esteem as well as her sense of self-worth stabilize. The therapist
should emphasize the survivor's strengths and demonstrate how they can save her
from a recurrence of the abuse or help her cope with it and with her abuser.
Education is an a important tool in this process of recovery. The patient should
be made aware of the prevalence and nature of violence against women and
stalking, their emotional and physical effects, warning signs and red flags,
legal redresses, coping strategies, and safety precautions.
The therapist or social worker should provide the victim with lists of contacts
- help organizations, law enforcement agencies, other women in her condition,
domestic violence shelters, and victims' support groups both online and in her
neighbourhood or city. Knowledge empowers and reduces the victim's sense of
isolation and worthlessness.
Helping the survivor regain control of her life is the over-riding goal of the
entire therapeutic process. With this aim in mind, she should be encouraged to
re-establish contact with family, friends, colleagues, and the community at
large. The importance of a tightly-knit social support network cannot be
exaggerated.
Ideally, after a period of combined tutoring, talk therapy, and (anti-anxiety or
antidepressant) medications, the survivor will self-mobilize and emerge from the
experience more resilient and assertive and less gullible and self-deprecating.
If You Have Suffered a motor accident, whiplash injury, accident at work, medical negligence, faulty goods, criminal injury, slip or trip, industrial injury, accident in a public place or
would just like some advice, please don't hesitate to give us a call on 08000 71 22 71 for any personal injury, medical negligence, road traffic accident, no win no fee accident claims
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