The treatment of child abuse in an in-patient setting

Abstract

The Families Unit at the Cassel Hospital is the only medical establishment with in-patient beds for whole families, and it can provide the opportunity for detailed and relatively safe observation and treatment of severely disordered families. A number of different kinds of family are treated, including those in which a mother has suffered a severe post puerperal breakdown, those in which one or more members of the family have a severe psychiatric condition such as chronic depression, as well as families whose whole functioning in many aspects of life has broken down.

Child Physical Abuse Observed

“…They varied in constitution, in size, and in the problems in family functioning experienced. The treatment of some of these families is described briefly by Kennedy (1988).…”

Parental responsibility

“…My account is based on the extensive experience of assessing and treating such families, many of whom have suffered from child physical and sexual abuse, in the Family Unit of the Cassel Hospital. Details of the treatment programme and the principles of working within the legal framework have already been published (Kennedy et al, 1987;Kennedy. 1988Kennedy.…”

“…Details of the treatment programme and the principles of working within the legal framework have already been published (Kennedy et al, 1987;Kennedy. 1988Kennedy. .…”

Child protection by child and family guidance workers

“…There have been publications linking child psy chiatry with child protection (Kennedy, 1988and Nicol, 1989, and our obligations in respect of child sexual abuse (Bentovim, 1987).This short study illustrates that a child and family guidance service in the middle of England is not simply an isolated backwater of arcane deliberations but is broadly committed to tackling child abuse by a variety of approaches.…”