From sadness, shame and subordination to empowered pride – children’s recovering from domestic violence and the role of individual counseling
Recent research and social debate and policy have directed increased attention to the many children who – on single occasions or repeatedly during their entire childhood – experience their parents’violence against each other. Such experiences are entails risk for emotional and behavioral problems. Research has found that the children often try but are unable to understand the violence. This is believed to cause the children feelings of shame, guilt and responsibility. This study aims at developing knowledge about children’s recovery processes as described by the children themselves. 36 children of 4 to 19 years were interviewed individually about their experiences of their recovery process after completing individual counseling based on a model developed by save the children Sweden. The first analysis identified common trends in the children’s descriptions. For the second analysis, the strengths and difficulties questionnaire – and lmpact of Event scale and sense of coherence for the children over B years – was used to identify children with exceptionally good and bad recovery, enabling a deepened analysis of the role and possible impact of individual counseling. ln the presentation, citations from the child interviews are used to illustrate the children’s narratives about their recovery process.
