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Writer's pictureKarthika DR

What is Abuse? View of Malayali Psychologist

Updated: Sep 27

WHAT IS ABUSE?


ARE YOU STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES LINKED TO ABUSE?


Abuse can come in many forms. It is an action that results in causing harm or distress to another person. Some of the most common forms of abuse are physical, emotional, sexual, domestic violence, neglect and discrimination. Abuse can be difficult to overcome alone. As such it can have lasting psychological effects on the victims. At Select Psychology we can provide you with professional support to cope with the mental health problems caused by abuse in a safe and confidential space.


abuse person sitting blog by malayali psychologist

Abuse can come in many forms but all result in behaviour towards a person that causes harm, injury or distress. This harm can be both physical (bodily) and psychological (mental). It can happen to anyone at any age and there can be more than one victim. Often, people who commit abuse are either in a position of power or are taking advantage of a special relationship and their actions are harmful, morally wrong or distressing.


Someone who harms a person intentionally is committing abuse. It is important to remember that the person being abused is never at fault and it is best to seek help if you are experiencing abuse. Recognising abuse might be difficult for someone who has lived with it for years. It might even make a person believe that the forms of abuse they experience are the right way to treat other people. However, it is important to remember that abuse is not a typical or healthy way to treat others. Abuse can be difficult to overcome alone. As such it can have lasting psychological effects on the victims.



 WHEN TO SEEK THERAPY FOR ABUSE


You should consider therapy for abuse when:


You have difficulty forming and maintaining relationships


You have trouble sleeping


You regularly experience anxiety and/or panic attacks


You are unable to trust other people and even yourself


You have constant feelings of guilt and shame


You have low self-esteem


You are experiencing symptoms of anxiety, depression and/or PTSD


THE BEST THERAPIES FOR TREATING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES LINKED TO ABUSE


Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)


Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)


Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)


Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)


Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)




Counselling & Psychotherapy


BENEFITS OF HAVING THERAPY FOR ABUSE RELATED ISSUES


Helps you escape from the constant feeling of helplessness and see a way out of your suffering


Provides you with a safe space for mental and emotional support to cope with issues caused by abuse


Acts as support if you are in the process of leaving an abusive relationship


Helps restore self-esteem


Teaches you healthy coping strategies, enabling you to trust yourself and others and move on with your lifelife


MOST COMMONLY RECOGNISED FORMS OF ABUSE


Physical abuse: Involves intentional use of force to hurt, injure, cause pain or bodily harm to another person. It is usually a pattern of behaviour and occurs repeatedly. Experiencing physical abuse can have a lasting impact on the victim’s mental and physical health. The victim of physical abuse is likely to suffer physical injuries, emotional distress, fear, anxiety and a diminished sense of self-worth.

Domestic violence: Also referred to as domestic abuse or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), is a pattern of abusive behaviour in a close relationship used for gaining control and power over the other. This type of abuse can take many forms such as emotional, physical, financial or sexual abuse.


Sexual abuse: This type of abuse involves non-consensual sexual activity (physical, virtual, psychological or verbal) which is controlling, coercive, exploitative and harmful in nature. Sexual abuse can occur in various contexts, including within institutions, personal relationships, communities or situations of power imbalance.


Psychological/emotional abuse: It is targeted at the victim’s mental and emotional well-being. It involves a pattern of behaviour focused on manipulating, controlling or undermining the other person’s emotional state. The abuser tends to instil fear in the victim’s mind through threats, intimidation or aggressive behaviour to maintain control over them.


Financial abuse: Also known as economic abuse, financial abuse involves restricting, exploiting or controlling other person’s financial resources. The abuser may limit the victim’s access to financial resources through various means. This may include coercion, threats, isolation from financial resources or exploitation, legal manipulation and theft. Financial abuse can have a long-lasting impact on the victim as it can affect their financial independence, ability to leave an abusive situation,

 

Organisational abuse: Also known as institutional abuse/neglect, it refers to harmful, unethical or abusive practices in organisations or institutions. It can occur in places such as care facilities, educational institutions, or professional workplaces. The abuse can occur in the form of misconduct, mistreatment, discrimination, neglect or violation of rights, safety or wellbeing of individuals within that organisation or institute. It can be within the systemic structure in the form of unjust policies and practices of an institution, neglect of care and safety which can endanger the lives of individuals, psychological or in the form of abuse of power and authority.


Discrimination: Refers to the unjust or prejudicial treatment of individuals or groups based on their characteristics, traits or attributes that are considered different or inferior. It perpetuates inequality by creating disadvantages for the victims, limiting their access to resources and denying them basic fundamental human rights. Discrimination can be on the basis of race, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation and more.

Modern slavery: Prevalent in professional workspaces, it refers to various forms of exploitation and coerced labour that persist even today. This can involve threats, violence, coercion or abuse of power. This type of abuse can involve offences such as forced labour, human trafficking, child labour and sexual exploitation.


Bullying: It is a pattern of aggressive and intentional harm and trauma inflicted on a person or group considered to be weaker or less powerful. It involves repetitive patterns and can occur in various settings such as schools, workplaces, online platforms, communities and families. It can lead to severe anxiety, depression, PTSD, lower sense of self-worth, low self-esteem and other such mental health problems.

Neglect: Involves failure or intentionally restricting to provide adequate care, attention, support or protection to an individual. This can be in the form of failure to meet basic needs, lack of supervision or care, physical neglect, medical neglect, educational neglect and abandonment. It can affect a person’s physical, mental and emotional well-being leaving them vulnerable, especially children, elderly, people with disabilities or those with severe mental health problems.


THINGS YOU CAN DO TO COPE


If you are suffering, it is best to seek treatment as soon as you are able to, but in the meantime there are some things that can help while you are waiting for your first appointment:



Acknowledge the abuse and educate yourself about the type of abuse you have experienced. This can help you understand your triggers and issues more transparently and subsequently, learn ways to cope with them.



Exercising your body also means exercising your mind. Physical activities and habits such as doing yoga and meditation can help you feel more centred and enhance your self-esteem.



Reaching out for help, professionally or personally can be immensely helpful. Though it can seem daunting and raise feelings of guilt and shame, doing so can help provide you with emotional strength and support needed to cope with abuse.



Practice self-compassion. Being kind to yourself can transform the way you perceive your situation and help you understand your situation and experience in a more supportive manner.


HOW CAN OUR PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES HELP WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES LINKED TO ABUSE?


The first step is recognising you have an issue and seeking help – BOOK A FREE TELEPHONE CONSULTATION and start the process by providing a space and time to share your needs with us.


You will be heard and understood through a confidential phone conversation. Often called the ‘triage’ this is where you can share more about your needs, and we can advise on therapy pathways and provide initial guidance where possible.


We will match your needs with the best fit practitioner for your therapy pathway and offer you an appointment within two weeks.

Before you begin a course of therapy, your therapist will need to conduct an assessment in order to agree a course of therapy with you that will best help you and address your goals. This is still part of the therapeutic process and will provide you with a better understanding of your difficulties and how you may start to approach them.


Following on from your assessment, you will move onto therapy. Appointments are 50 minutes – these can be anything from weekly to monthly, depending on your individual circumstances. The number of sessions required to feel better will depend on your needs and therapy plan, this can range between 8-16 sessions, but in general more time is needed to address more complex issues.


As you start to improve, you can agree on changes to the frequency of sessions as required. Ultimately, there will be a time when both you and your therapist agree that you no longer need to continue in active therapy


Koott enennum ningalude koode…


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