Alice Miller Dies at age 87

I am saddened to learn of the death of Alice Miller, a pioneer psychoanalyst in the field of child abuse. Fortunately for all of us, she ended her therapy practice in 1980, which helped a limited number of survivors, to write books which has touched millions. Though I have not read all of Ms. Miller's books, from what I have read, those who study the area of child abuse will learn much from her writing. While some of her writing is controversial, as a child abuse survivor, I have not found much that I do not agree with.

Questions To Ask Yourself About Physical Child Abuse

Yesterday there was a fire in Minneapolis that took the lives of 3 children and 3 adults.  It is the front page news on Star Tribune newspaper and was the lead story on every local news program. There are funds being set up for the families and a community of people are there to help the survivors of the deadliest fire in Minneapolis in 24 years. And rightfully so. Six human lives lost. And we feel the most sympathy for the children whose lives were cut so incredibly short. How horrifically tragic. My heart and prayers go out to their loved ones.

Peter Townsend appearing at the NFL Superbowl

The NFL has hired the "Who" band to play during halftime. The controversy that is brewing is Peter Townsend having been "placed on Britain's sex offenders register for five years after he admitted accessing child pornography online."

I understand someone not being guilty unless convicted. However I don't believe we have all the facts. He claims he was working on a project however before one investigates any subject matter, if it includes breaking the law, I would think the very least you would do is let the police know what you were doing and for what purpose.

Reflections on child abuse

In my mother’s eyes, I failed to see how fortunate I was, which contributed to her justification for abusing me. For example, my mother loved to cook what she called “salmon patties and I could not stand the smell or taste them. (I get nauseated at the smell to this day) I would sit and dawdle at the table for hours, every once in a while, trying to get a bite down my throat without gaging. I knew what awaited me if I didn’t finish.

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My first step of healing from child abuse

My “healing from child abuse” journey began with the movie Mommie Dearest. I had heard all the talk about it being about child abuse and like many others, I was curious. As I left the theater, I remember thinking “That’s child abuse? That’s nothing.” But later that night, as I lay in bed, I was left with the question; “If that’s child abuse, what happened to me?” That question was the first step into this healing journey.

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Forgiveness

Healing from child abuse is a long process which involves specific stages and if you so choose, ends with forgiveness. The first stage is acknowledgment. Despite being severely beaten, I did not realize what happened to me was abuse for two reasons. First, my mind blocked out the worse parts. Second, I did not have a point of reference, so what I experienced was normal to me.

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Preventing and Reporting Child Abuse

I just read a story about child abuse titled “In child abuse cases, do what’s best for the child, experts say.“

What disturbed me was this paragraph: “Four days before the baby’s death, 21-year-old Patrick A. Naquin of Houma, was arrested after he allegedly fractured the skull of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son in a fit of rage. The child is expected to recover. Naquin is charged with second-degree cruelty to a juvenile. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison.”

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Finally a Doctor’s Specialty in Child Abuse

The American Medical News reports that after nine years, the American Medical Board of Pediatrics is FINALLY offering a specialty in the treatment of child abuse. We as a society owe a debt to the late pediatrician and educator, Dr. Ray Helfer, who devoted his life to the developing methods of detecting child abuse, treating and preventing it. Others have kept Dr. Helfer’s spirit and work alive on as The Helfer Society.

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