Constructivist psychology of child abuse and implications for psychotherapy

Humanistic Psychologist

Volumn 29, Issue 1-3, 2001, Pages 40-69

  Harter, Stephanie Lewis ^a  

^a TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0346199960     PISSN: 08873267     EISSN: 15473333     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/08873267.2001.9977007     Document Type: Article

References (82)

1. Adams‐Westcott, J., and Dobbins, C., 1997. “ Listening with your “heart ears” and other ways young people can escape the effects of sexual abuse ”. In Narrative therapies with children and adolescents, Edited by: Smith, C., and Nylund, D., 195–220. New York: Guilford.
2. Alexander, P. C., and Follette, V. M., 1987. “ Personal constructs in the group treatment of incest ”. In Personal construct therapy casebook, Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., and Neimeyer, G. J., 211–229. New York: Springer.
3. Alexander, P. C., and Lupfer, S. L., 1987. Family characteristics and long‐term consequences associated with sexual abuse. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 16: 235–245.
4. Alexander, P. C., and Neimeyer, G. J., 1989. Constructivism and family therapy. International Journal of Personal Construct Psychology, 2: 111–121.
5. Alexander, P. C., Neimeyer, R. A., Follette, V. M., Moore, M. K., and Harter, S. L., 1989. A comparison of group treatments of women sexually abused as children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57: 479–483.
6. American Psychiatric Association. 1994. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, (4th edition), Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association Press.
7. Beitchman, J. H., Zucker, K. J., Hood, J. E., DaCosta, G. A., and Akman, D., 1991. A review of the short‐term effects of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 15: 537–556.
8. Beitchman, J. H., Zucker, K. J., Hood, J. E., DaCosta, B. A., Akman, D., and Cassavia, E., 1992. A review of the long‐term effects of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 16: 101–118.
9. Briere, J., 1992. Child abuse trauma: Theory and treatment of the lasting effects., Newberry Park, CA: Sage.
10. Briere, J., 1996. Therapy for adults molested as children: beyond survival, (Second Edition), New York: Springer.
11. Brown, L. S., 1994. Subversive dialogues: Theory in feminist therapy, NY: Basic Books.
12. Brown, L. S., 2000. “ Discomforts of the powerless: Feminist constructions of distress ”. In Constructions of disorder: Meaning‐making frameworks for psychtherapy, Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., and Raskin, J. D., 287–308. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
13. Browne, A., and Finkelhor, D., 1986. Impact of child sexual abuse: A review of the research. Psychological Bulletin, 99: 66–77.
14. Champagne, R., 1996. The politics of survivorship: Incest, women's literature, and feminist theory., NY: New York University Press.
15. Coffey, P., Leitenberg, H., Henning, K., Turner, T., and Bennett, R. T., 1996. Mediators of the long‐term impact of child sexual abuse: Perceived stigma, betrayal, powerlessness, and self‐blame. Child Abuse and Neglect, 20: 447–455.
16. Draucker, C. B., 1993. Childhood sexual abuse: Sources of trauma. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 14: 249–262.
17. Draucker, C. B., 1996. Family‐of‐origin variables and adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse: A review of the research. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 5(4): 35–63.
18. Epting, F. R., Prichard, S., Leitner, L. M., and Dunnett, G., 1996. “ Personal constructions of the social ”. In The construction of group realities: Culture, society, and personal construct theory, Edited by: Kalekin‐Fishman, D., and Walker, B. M., 309–322. Malabar, FL: Krieger.
19. Erbes, C. R., 2000. Child sexual abuse and the self: Affect and differentiation., Texas Tech University. Unpublished doctoral dissertation
20. Erbes, C. R., and Harter, S. L., “ Constructions of abuse: Understanding the effects of childhood sexual abuse ”. In Cutting edge issues in constructivist psychology., Edited by: Raskin, J. D., and Bridges, S. K., NY: Pace University Press. (in press)
21. Fischer, K. W., Ayoub, C., Singh, I., Noam, G., Maraganore, H., and Raya, P., 1997. Psychopathology as adaptive development along distinctive pathways. Development and Psychopathology, 9: 749–779.
22. Freyd, J. J., 1996. Betrayal trauma: The logic of forgetting childhood abuse, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
23. Metzger, B. M., and Murphy, R. E., eds. “ Genesis ”. In The new oxford annotated Bible, New revised standard version., New York: Oxford University Press.
24. Haaken, J., 1998. Pillar of salt: Gender, memory, and the perils of looking back., New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
25. Harker, T., 1997. “ Therapy with male sexual abuse survivors: Contesting oppressive life stories ”. In Narrative therapy in practice: The archaeology of hope, Edited by: Monk, G., Winslade, J., Cricket, K., and Epston, D., 193–214. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass.
26. Harter, S. L., The rebirth of self‐construing: Toward a personal psychology of trauma. Presented at the Ninth International Congress on Personal Construct Psychology. Albany, New York.
27. Harter, S. L., 1995. “ Construing on the edge: Clinical mythology in working with borderline processes ”. In Constructivism in psychotherapy, Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., and Mahoney, M. J., 371–383. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
28. Harter, S. L., 2000. Quantitative measures of construing in child abuse survivors. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 13: 103–116.
29. Harter, S. L., Alexander, P. C., and Neimeyer, R. A., 1988. Longterm effects of incestuous child abuse in college women: Social adjustment, social cognition, and family characteristics. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56: 5–8.
30. Harter, S. L., Erbes, C. R., and Hart, C. C., Use of the Role Construct Repertory Grid to assess the personal constructions of sexual abuse survivors. Paper presented at the 32nd Annual Comparative Literature Symposium, Narrative and Consciousness: Literature, Psychology, and the Brain. Lubbock, TX. February. Texas Tech University.
31. Harter, S. L., and Neimeyer, R. A. 1995. “ Long term effects of child sexual abuse: Toward a constructivist theory of trauma and its treatment ”. In Advances in Personal Construct Psychology, Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., and Neimeyer, G. J., Vol. 3, 229–269. Greenwich, CN: JAI.
32. Harter, S. L., and Vanecek, J., 2000. Cognitive assumptions and long‐term distress in survivors of childhood abuse, parental alcoholism, and dysfunctional family environments. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24: 445–472.
33. Harvey, M. R., Meshler, E. G., Koenen, K., and Harney, P. A., 2000. In the aftermath of sexual abuse: Making and remaking meaning in narratives of trauma. Narrative Inquiry, 10: 291–311.
34. Hazzard, A., 1993. Trauma‐related beliefs as mediators of sexual abuse impact in adult women survivors: A pilot study. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2: 55–69.
35. Herman, J. L., 1981. Father‐daughter incest., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
36. Herman, J. L., 1992. Trauma and recovery., New York: Basic Books.
37. Jacobson, A., Koehler, J. E., and Jones‐Brown, C., 1987. The failure of routine assessment to detect histories of assault experienced by psychiatric patients. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 38: 386–389.
38. James, J. B., Liem, J. H., and O'Toole, J. G., 1997. “ In search of resilience in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse: Linking outlets for power motivation to psychological health ”. In Narrative study of lives, Edited by: Lieblich, A., and Josselson, R., volume 5, 207–233. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
39. Janoff‐Bulman, R., 1992. Shattered assumptions: Towards a new psychology of trauma., New York: Free press.
40. Kelly, G. A., 1955. The psychology of personal constructs., New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
41. Kendall‐Tackett, K. A., Williams, L. M., and Finkelhor, D., 1993. Impact of sexual abuse on children: A review and synthesis of recent empirical studies. Psychological Bulletin, 113: 164–180.
42. Klein, K., and Janoff‐Bulman, J., 1996. Trauma history and personal narratives: Some clues to coping among survivors of child abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 20: 45–54.
43. Langer, L. L., 1991. Holocaust testimonies: The ruins of memory., New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
44. Leitner, L.M., 1999. Levels of awareness in experiential personal construct psychotherapy. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 12: 239–252.
45. Leitner, L. M., Begley, E. A., and Faidley, A. J., 1996. “ Cultural construing and marginalized persons: Role relationships and ROLE relationships ”. In The construction of group realities: Culture, society, and personal construct theory, Edited by: Kalekin‐Fishman, D., and Walker, B. M., 323–340. Malabar, FL: Krieger.
46. Leitner, L. M., Faidley, A. J., and Celentana, M. A., 2000. “ Diagnosing human meaning making: An experiential constructivist approach ”. In Constructions of disorder: Meaning making frameworks for psychotherapy., Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., and Raskin, J. D., Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
47. Liem, J. H., and Boudewyn, A. C., 1999. Contextualizing the effects of childhood sexual abuse on adult self‐ and social functioning: An attachment theory perspective. Child Abuse and Neglect, 23: 1141–1157.
48. Liem, J. H., O'Toole, J. G., and James, J. B., 1996. Themes of power and betrayal in sexual abuse survivors’ characterizations of interpersonal relationships. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9: 745–761.
49. Lisak, D., 1994. The psychological impact of sexual abuse: Content analysis of interviews with male survivors. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 7: 525–547.
50. MacFie, J., Cicchetti, D., and Toth, S. L., 2001. The development of dissociation in maltreated preschool‐aged children. Development & Psychopathology, 13: 233–254.
51. Mair, M., 1988. Psychology as storytelling. International Journal of Personal Construct Psychology, 1: 125–137.
52. Malinosky‐Rummell, R., and Hansen, K. J., 1993. Long‐term consequences of childhood physical abuse. Psychological Bulletin, 114: 68–79.
53. McMillen, C., and Zuravin, S., 1997. Attributions of blame and responsibility for child sexual abuse and adult adjustment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12: 30–48.
54. McMillen, C., Zuravin, S., and Rideout, G., 1995. Perceived benefit from child sexual abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63: 1037–1043.
55. Meiselman, K. C., 1978. Incest: A psychological study of causes and effects with treatment recommendations., San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass.
56. Meiselman, K. C., 1990. Resolving the trauma of incest: Reintgration therapy with survivors., San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass.
57. Morrow, S. L., and Smith, M. L., 1995. Constructions of survival and coping by women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 42: 24–33.
58. Nash, M. R., Hulsey, T. L., Sexton, M. C., Harralson, T. L., and Lambert, W., 1993. Long‐term sequelae of childhood sexual abuse: Perceived family environment, psychopathology, and dissociatioa. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61: 276–283.
59. Neimeyer, R. A., 1988. Clinical guidelines for conducting Interpersonal Transaction groups. International Journal of Personal Construct Psychology, 1: 181–190.
60. Neimeyer, R. A., 1995. “ Client‐generated narratives in psychotherapy ”. In Constructivism in psychotherapy, Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., and Mahoney, M. J., 231–246. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
61. Neimeyer, R. A., 2000. “ Narrative disruptions in the construction of self ”. In Constructions of disorder: Meaning‐making frameworks for psychotherapy, Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., and Raskin, J. D., 207–242. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
62. Neimeyer, R. A., 2001. “ The language of loss: Grief therapy as a process of meaning reconstruction ”. In Meaning reconstruction and the Experience of Loss, Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., 261–292. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
63. Neimeyer, R. A., and Harter, S. L., 1988. “ Facilitating individual change in personal construct therapy ”. In Working with people: Clinical uses of personal construct psychology, Edited by: Dunnett, G., 174–185. London: Routledge.
64. Neimeyer, R. A., Harter, S. L., and Alexander, P. C., 1991. Group perceptions as predictors of outcome in the treatment of incest survivors. Psychotherapy Research, 1: 148–158.
65. Neimeyer, R. A., and Stewart, A. E., 1996. Trauma, healing, and the narrative emplotment of loss. Families in Society, 77: 360–375.
66. Pennebaker, J. W., Mayne, T. J., and Francis, M. E., 1997. Linguistic predictors of adaptive bereavement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72: 863–871.
67. Pope, K. S., and Brown, L. S., 1996. Recovered memories of abuse: Assessment, therapy, forensics., Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
68. Proctor, H. G., 1996. “ The family construct system ”. In The construction of group realities: Culture, society, and personal construct theory, Edited by: Kalekin‐Fishman, D., and Walker, B. M., 161–180. Malabar, FL: Krieger.
69. Raskin, J. D., and Lewandowski, A. M., 2000. “ The construction of disorder as human enterprise ”. In Constructions of disorder: Meaning‐making frameworks for psychotherapy, Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., and Raskin, J. D., 15–40. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
70. Rowe, D., 1991. Wanting everything: The art of happiness., London: Harper Collins.
71. Sewell, K. W., 1997. “ Posttraumatic stress: Towards a constructiveist model of psychotherapy ”. In Advances in Personal Construct Psychology, Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., and Neimeyer, G. J., vol. 4, Greenwich, CN: JAI.
72. Sewell, K. W., Baldwin, C. L., and Moes, A. J., 1998. The multiple‐self awareness group: Format and application to a personal growth experience. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 11: 59–78.
73. Sewell, K. W., and Williams, A. M., 2001. “ Construing stress: A constructivist therapeutic approach to posttraumatic stress reactions ”. In Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss, Edited by: Neimeyer, R. A., 293–310. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
74. Shields, A., Ryan, R. M., and Cicchetti, D., 2001. Narrative representations of caregivers and emotional dysregulation as predictors of maltreated children's rejection by peers. Developmental Psychology, 37: 321–337.
75. Shipman, K. L., and Zeman, J., 2001. Socialization of children's emotion regulation in mother‐child dyads: A developmental psychopathology perspective. Development and Psychopa‐thology, 13: 317–336.
76. Shipman, K., Zeman, J., Penza, S., and Champion, K., 2000. Emotion management skills in sexually maltreated and nonmaltreated girls: A developmental psychopathology perspective. Development and Psychopathology, 12: 47–62.
77. Stewart, J., 1995. Reconstruction of the self: Life‐span‐oriented group psychotherapy. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 8: 129–148.
78. Thompson, A. E., and Kaplan, C. A., 1996. Childhood emotional abuse. British Journal of Psychiatry, 168: 143–148.
79. Toth, L., Cicchetti, D., MacFie, J., Maughan, A., and van Meenen, K., 2000. Narrative representations of caregivers and self in maltreated pre‐schoolers. Attachment and Human Development, 2: 271–305.
80. Van der Kolk, B. A., Burbridge, J. A., and Suzuki, J., 1997. “ The psychobiology of traumatic memory: Clinical implications of neuroimaging studies ”. In Psychobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder, Edited by: Yehuda, R., and McFarlane, A. C., 99–113. NY: New York Academy of Sciences.
81. Walker, B. M., 1996. “ A psychology for adventurers: An introduction to personal construct psychology from a social perspective ”. In The construction of group realities: Culture, society, and personal construct theory, Edited by: Kalekin‐Fishman, D., and Walker, B. M., 7–26. Malabar, FL: Krieger.
82. Wyatt, G. E., and Newcomb, M., 1990. Internal and external mediators of women's sexual abuse in childhood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58: 758–767.