Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay
Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay
Discussion: Treating Childhood Abuse
In 2012, statistics in the United States indicated that state CPS agencies received 3.4 million referrals for child abuse and neglect. Of these, nearly 700,000 children were found to be victims of maltreatment: 18% were victims of physical abuse and 78% were victims of neglect (CDC, 2014). Child sexual abuse makes up roughly 10% of child maltreatment cases in the United States (CDC, 2014). The CDC considers sexual abuse at any age a form of violence. Child abuse of any kind can lead to an increased state of inflammatory markers in adulthood, as well as multiple physical illnesses and high-risk behavior such as alcoholism and drug abuse. If a PMHNP identifies child abuse, there may be a need to report the abuse to authorities. Once able to provide treatment, the PMHNP can be instrumental in reducing the long-term effects of child abuse. Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay.
In this Discussion, you recommend strategies for assessing for abuse and analyze influences of media and social media on mental health. You also evaluate the need for mandatory reporting of abuse.
Learning Objectives
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Students will:
- Recommend strategies for assessing for abuse
- Analyze influences of media and social media on mental health
- Evaluate the need for mandatory reporting of abuse
- Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay
To Prepare for this Discussion:
- Read the Learning Resources concerning treating childhood abuse.
- Read the Child Abuse Case Study in the Learning Resources.
By Day 3
Post:
- What strategies would you employ to assess the patient for abuse? Explain why you selected these strategies.
- How might exposure to the media and/or social media affect the patient?
- What type of mandatory reporting (if any) is required in this case? Why?
- Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay
By Day 6
Respond to at least two of your colleagues by providing at least two ways that their strategies may be expanded or improved.
Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay
When assessing a child for potential abuse, the number one strategy is building a therapeutic relationship and making the client feel as comfortable as possible. If the client does not trust the clinician, they may be reluctant to open up. It is also important to talk about confidentiality. If abuse is suspected, it is imperative to obtain a spontaneous account of the incident as soon as possible. Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay.
According to Sadock, Sadock, and Ruiz (2014), the interview with the child takes precedence over the physical examination. The interview assesses the developmental and psychosocial history of the child and notes any changes in client behavior, confounding variables, family history and attitude, and underlying motivation of the adults involved. It can also be useful to request collateral information from other sources close to the child. The clinician may also choose to use interview protocols such as the Cognitive Interview or Step-Wise Interview to maximize the amount of accurate information provided by the child.
Influences of Media
In my experience, sexual abuse exposed in the media has had positive effects on patients. Weatherred (2015) finds that one in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. Americans learn most about child sexual abuse through the media. Exposing these cases helps to bring awareness to the public and policymakers, which in turn, has the capacity to improve evidenced based prevention and intervention services for youth and their families. Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay.
The media helps open up discussion about this major health issue, and people are influenced to act and create solutions. A recent example of this would be the #MeToo movement which created a community where victims were empowered to tell their story and could find strength from one another. The media has helped contribute to a zero tolerance attitude within our society (Burke, 2006).
Mandatory Reporting
According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway (2016), all 50 states in the nation have statutes that identify what persons are required to report child maltreatment. In the state of North Carolina, all persons who have cause to suspect that any juvenile is abused, neglected, or dependent, or has died as the result of maltreatment, is mandated to make a report. It would be absolutely necessary to report the child abuse case to either law enforcement or child protective services. Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay.
References
Burke, T. (2006). Me too. Retrieved from https://metoomvmt.org
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2016). Mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/manda.pdf#page=5&view=Summaries%20of%20State%20Laws . Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay.
Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2014). Child Psychiatry. In C. Pataki & N. Sussman (Eds.), Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (11th ed., pp. 1216-1226). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.
Weatherred, J. L. (2015). Child sexual abuse and the media: A literature review. Journal Of Child Sexual Abuse, 24(1), 16-34. doi:10.1080/10538712.2015.976302. Treating Childhood Abuse Discussion Essay
