Professor Chu
March 3, 2014
Mental Rehabilitation for Abused Children
Marchella Brett-Pierce had been tied to her little bed by her mother, starved, and beaten (“ACS workers reach plea deal in girl 's death”). Authorities found 4 year old Adonis Reed left for dead in his home, alone, unconscious on the couch, and rushed him to a local hospital. Doctors there pronounced the boy dead (“Who killed four year-old abused boy, left to die alone in Long Island house?”) Child abuse is a major problem in our society today. Every day many children suffer with the horror of domestic abuse, abused by the very people who are supposed to protect and love them. Some cases include the stories of Marchella and Adonis. Sadly, for these poor children help came too late. But there are countless others who are living with and who survived abuse such as this. It is these individuals that truly need in-depth mental restorative help. Through research of child abuse, methods of rehabilitation, and mental restoration, we can learn how to deal with the aftermath of children that have been physically abused. This could potentially give us the upper hand in knowing what kinds of therapeutic approaches to use in order to return these traumatized children to a healthy state of mind.
Several cases of child abuse go unreported to child care agencies due to some people’s view that it will do more harm than good. In these cases people avoid reporting child abuse for many reasons. The accuser might be afraid of violent reactions from the abusive parent of the child or the accuser might not be sure if the child is actually being abused. Consequently, they would be filing a false claim. According to the US Census bureau in New York alone, in one year there were 168,658 cases of child abuse reported and over 90,000 victims. The absence of attentiveness in regards to noticing child mistreatment is due to a deficiency of awareness. It is the responsibility of professionals
Cited: “ACS workers reach plea deal in girl 's death” by Sarah Wallace Eyewitness News Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Tuesday, December 17, 2013 New York News Gilbert, Ruth, et al. "Child Maltreatment 2: Recognising and Responding to Child Maltreatment." The Lancet 373.9658 (2009): 167-80 Children." Clinical Social Work Journal 38.1 (2010): 51-60. ProQuest. Web. 6 Feb. 2014 Stalker, Carol A., et al Children: A Follow-Up Study." The American Journal of Psychiatry 162.3 (2005): 552- 9 United States Census Bureau. US Department of Commerce 2012. February 23, 2014.