Psychological abuse in children often has major consequences. But what is psychological treatment and what does psychological treatment look like?
Psychological abuse of children
Children need appreciation and support. Normally, parents also give this to their children and thus a solid foundation is laid for a good life. But there are also parents who treat their children very differently. They ridicule their children, scold them or show that they do not consider them worth anything. When that happens, it is psychological abuse.
Parents who call their child a rotten child
Parents who treat their child this way often call their child a rotten child or say that the child never does anything right. No matter what their child does, they can never really do it well. It also happens that parents keep scaring them by threatening them with having to go to a boarding school or an institution, for example. Or a child is locked in a dark cupboard or room. Children are also sometimes given punishments that really make no sense. For example, if they knock over a cup of drink, they are not allowed to leave the house for a week.
Unpredictable behavior: one moment parents are sweet, the next moment they are angry
Unpredictable behavior for children can also be classified as psychological abuse. If the parent or parents are sweet to the child one moment and angry the next, without the children understanding why these changes keep happening. The child then does not know at all what to expect from the parents and this often leads to an increasingly anxious and insecure child.
If only we never got you
There are also parents who constantly tell their children that they wish they had never had them. This basically affects the child, because it means that those who should be overjoyed with you are not. And who are they, if not your parents?
The child is loved, but is not allowed anything
There are also parents who are overjoyed with their child, but want to keep them to themselves so that the child is not allowed to hang out with friends. Although there is love, this does damage children.
Emotional neglect
Psychological abuse and emotional neglect are two different things. With emotional neglect, a child receives little or no love, warmth and attention from the parents. For example, the child’s father and mother show no interest in what the child is experiencing and often do not even respond when it asks for attention. A hug or a kiss is often completely out of the question. It may also be the case that parents hardly do anything with their child.
The outside world thinks that nothing is wrong, while a child is being psychologically neglected or abused
In many cases it seems as if nothing is wrong with a child. A child wears good clothes, has enough toys and gets enough to eat. But that may be an illusion and the child may crave love, attention, appreciation and support.
Psychological abuse is not physical abuse
It is often thought that children who are psychologically abused are also physically or sexually abused. However, that doesn’t have to be the case. It is possible, but it is not always the case. The other way around is often the case. A child who is physically and/or sexually abused is also often psychologically abused.