No abstract

~~The relationships among interpersonal functioning, symptomatology, and childhood abuse were examined in 315 university women. Women reporting childhood abuse had lower quality of past interpersonal relationships, greater fear of intimacy, and greater trauma symptomatology than nonabused women had. Regression analyses indicated that experiencing both sexual and physical abuse, more extensive psychological abuse, and current sexual concerns, defensive avoidance, dissociation, and intrusive experiences were signifcant predictors of fear of intimacy. Dysfunctional sexual behaviors, impaired self-reference, and depression were signifcant predictors of the quality of current interpersonal relationships, whereas sexual abuse or multiple abuse experiences in childhood and angerhitability were predictors of the quality of prior interpersonal relationships. Implications for future research and treatment are discussed.

Clinical samples of child sexual abuse survivors report a variety of psychiatric symptoms and interpersonal difficulties. The treatment outcome literature for this population is often incomplete due to numerous methodological constraints. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an open trial of individual short-term, psychodynamic psychotherapy with a naturalistic sample of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Sexual abuse survivors demonstrated significant improvement in symptomatic distress, level of functioning and dynamic personality variables according to selfreport measures and clinical rating scales. Abuse survivors developed positive therapeutic alliances, which remained high throughout the course of treatment, and comparable to the non-abused clinical sample. Sexual abuse survivors' response to treatment was similar to that of non-abused patients, with the potential for greater change in feelings about the self. These findings demonstrate that psychodynamic psychotherapy may be useful for childhood sexual abuse survivors presenting with depressive symptoms and interpersonal difficulties.

No abstract

The present article represents a departure from applied crisis intervention and brief treatment-based papers in that it takes one step back and suggests, following several related literature reviews, that preexisting attitudes must be examined by all prior to intervention. The main point of the present article is that victims, perpetrators, and therapists involved in all forms of intimate partner violence must assess their existing blame distribution attitudes, beliefs, and consequent behaviors in order to ensure proper, empathic, and therapeutically effective treatment. Data are also presented on other professionals' attitudes, such as those of legal, medical, and other allied health professionals in an effort to predict and prevent potentially negative outcomes for clients. Finally, assessment and intervention implications are discussed in light of the reported attitudinal and belief biases apparently present in most professional and lay public samples. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention