The Abused Child: Psychodynamic Understanding and Treatment [Paperback]

Toni Vaughn Heineman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 23, 1998

Capturing the complexities of working with abused children, Heineman explores the intrapsychic worlds of these youngsters and examines many of the paradoxes and complications encountered when treating them. The book traces the interplay of neurobiological and psychological facets of behavior to show how abuse derails normal development and how psychodynamic psychotherapy can reestablish emotional connections.
Chapters highlight special issues involved when working with children who have been physically, sexually, and emotionally abused, exploring memory and disclosure, dissociation and externalization, and the relationship between action and spoken language. The book also addresses important factors in understanding and working with parents and caregivers and reviews such relevant legal issues as the process of court-ordered evaluations. Throughout, clinical vignettes illustrate the practical applications of concepts and theories discussed.
This volume will be of interest to therapists workign with children, including both seasoned practitioners and newcomers to the field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Toni Heineman's years of hands-on experience with children and families in distress shine through in this important book. The Abused Child is both scholarly and pragmatic, combining a sophisticated psychodynamic perspective with a command of the most recent neuroscientific findings about trauma. Most of all, Heineman's clinical work has enabled her to develop a finely honed sense of how it really feels to be an abused child, and how to work with children caught in the most torturous family and legal systems. Heineman is both a social worker and a psychoanalytic clinical psychologist, and she embodies the best of both professions. This book will enhance its readers' everyday practice, providing both a broad conceptual integration and a plethora of useful clinical examples. --Stephen Seligman, DMH, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco

"An indispensable, trail-blazing book. Rejecting one-dimensional formulations and resolutions, Dr. Heineman integrates the developmental, psychological, neurophysiological, and family dimensions of therapeutic work with abused children. Beleaguered (and often confused) clinicians will find Dr. Heineman to be a humane, thoughtful guide. Numerous and rich clinical examples illustrate inspired, effective therapeutic work in the face of extreme human pain and uncertainty as to historical truth." --Neil Altman, PhD, Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, New York University

"Dr. Heineman has given us a remarkable 'guide for the perplexed' as we make our way in this largely uncharted domain. Her book is an essential resource for coming to grips with the psychic impact of child abuse and for developing ways of working in depth with traumatized individuals of all ages....Through richly detailed, often brilliant clinical illustrations, Dr. Heineman reminds us that the capacity to tolerate contradiction and ambiguity is among the surest signs of wisdom....This is a book worth not only reading, but consulting again and again when we need to restore a sense of balance and direction to our work." --from the Foreword by Alicia F. Lieberman, PhD, University of California, San Francisco

"This is a highly accessible, informative work. One rarely encounters so much clinical detail, with such a plethora of cases handled with unerring skill and empathic understanding. The breadth of Dr. Heineman's knowledge encompasses the full range of neurophysiological, psychological, sociological, and legal aspects of dealing with these traumatized children and their families. We should all be very grateful for the gift this author has given us."--Morton Shane, MD, Estelle Shane, PhD, and Mary Gales, MD, authors of Intimate Attachments: Toward a New Self Psychology

About the Author

Toni Vaughn Heineman, DMH, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, is in private practice in San Francisco. Dr. Heineman is also on the faculty of the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California. An active supervisor, consultant, and evaluator, she has written and lectured widely on clinical issues affecting children and adults.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1 edition (July 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572303751
• ISBN-13: 978-1572303751
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #996,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A state of the art book on child abuse that is a must-read, February 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Abused Child: Psychodynamic Understanding and Treatment (Paperback)

As a developmental and clinical psychologist, this book has been invaluable to me in helping me make sense of the physical, psychological, social and legal facets of treating children who have suffered abuse. Dr. Heineman far surpasses any expert I have yet read or encountered in the field in terms of both her empathic clinical understanding and theoretical sophistication in the treatment of abused children and their families. You will find no glib twelve step programs or schematic guidelines, but instead a deep and thorough analysis of all the issues that confront us, both psychologically and socially, as we grapple with the painful reality that some children in our society are confronted with abuse rather than affection from the adults who are supposed to be caring for them. She is also a wonderful writer who brings her thoughts to life in the stories she tells of the children she has treated. A must-read for anyone concerned with this issue.

2 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars it didn't talk about the child being abused., February 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Abused Child: Psychodynamic Understanding and Treatment (Paperback)

it was very good, and it was very understanding