Customer Reviews

Detecting Child Abuse: Recognizing Children at Risk Through Drawings

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was intrigued by the title of this book, but very disappointed with its contents. The author appears to believe that children's drawings can be reduced to a series of elements which can lead one to deduce that abuse has occurred. While this may or may not be true, many of the resources that are used to support the author's premise are outdated (many from before 1960) and do not necessarily apply to children's art. The author has also neglected the more recent research in the field of art therapy which has dealt with drawings as aids in assessment of child abuse. As a therapist with almost 20 years of experience in working with abused and neglected children, I found this book to be ironically somewhat abusive of the children it seeks to identify and help. As an alternative to this book, I suggest that those interested in this topic read the works of Eliana Gil and a more recent book by Cathy Malchiodi on the complexities of children's drawings (Understanding Children's Drawings); both authors provide a framework and discussion of the ethical use of children's drawings as diagnostic aids, something this author has failed to integrate into this particular volume.

I too was very disappointed by this book which is poorly written and researched. The author has not taken into consideration the many aspects of children's drawings and looked no futher than the projective literature to make a case for detecting child abuse through drawings. I kept feeling that this book was hastily put together to cash in on a topic that many worry about.

Dr. Cantlay has put together a great system for helping those of us who work with children to decipher the disturbing content we often see in children's artwork. I was skeptical, because I have other books like this on my shelf. This is the first one I felt I could really use to come to conclusions about the cries for help I sometimes hear in children's drawings. I highly recommend it to teachers, therapists, daycare providers, and parents.