Working With Children Who Have Experienced Neglect or Abuse

Dr. Wes Crenshaw demonstrates his approach to working with children who have been neglected or sexually or physically abused. Because most offenders in cases of abuse or neglect are within the child's family, this approach by necessity treats the entire family system, and the goal of therapy is to recontextualize the act of injustice, in both the offender's and the victim's minds. In this session, Dr. Crenshaw works with three sons who were neglected and abused by their mother, who is addicted to drugs. Dr. Crenshaw listens to the painful experiences of this family and then helps the boys and their father to place the mother's behavior within the broader context of their lives.