Treatments for the victims of violence

Abstract

The presentation will discuss the treatment of victims of violence inflicted by other(s). Interpersonal violence is defined here as an event that threatens or manifests bodily or emotional harm. The violent event may be observed, threatened, or directly experienced. Interpersonal violence can take a wide variety of forms. These include domestic violence; physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of children and spouses; date rape and stranger rape; assault and battery of strangers; terrorist attacks; mass shootings; assassinations; executions and torture. The victims of such events exhibit various clinical syndroms. The most frequent are depression, phobia, panic disorder, generalised anxiety disorder. However the relevant literature focuses mainly to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), since this particular syndrom is considered both specific and frequent in situations that include man-made or natural events that threatens the life or can cause serious injury. Even when the criteria for PTSD are not met and the person presents another clinical syndrom, the experience of the trauma should be taken into account in any psychoterapeutic intervention.