Treatment Strategies for Abused Adolescents: From Victim to Survivor. - book reviews

Adolescence, Summer, 1998

KARP, Cheryl L., BUTLER, Traci L., & BERGSTROM, Sage C. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998. 181pp. $59.95 (h), $29.95 (p). Activity Manual, 109pp. $14.95 (p).

Helping teens to work through trauma resolution and emerge as healthy survivors can prove frustrating for therapists who find there is 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, the authors have compiled Treatment Strategies for Abused Adolescents and the accompanying activity manual, which together provide 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 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.