Source: (2002) International Review of Victimology. 9(1): 1-14.
Addressing therapy provisions for victims of crimes, this article focuses on restorative treatment approaches to criminal victimization. Following a discussion of the importance of the psychological debriefing of crime victims immediately following a trauma, the author follows in the tradition of E. A. Fattah stressing the overall significance of early intervention in aiding victims of crimes and individuals suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Characterizing PTSD as a pathological stress response syndrome that may occur following exposure to any traumatic event, this article suggests that true cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is the most effective treatment for traumatized individuals. Focusing on recovered memories, suggestion, and iatrogenesis or the process by which a clinician unwittingly evokes reactions and symptoms in patients, the author argues that clinicians should be cautious in using recovered memory therapies. Largely agreeing with Fattah’s research, the author concludes his assessment of restorative treatment approaches arguing that neither supportive counseling nor active listening by non-clinicians is effective in aiding victims of crime or PTSD. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.
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