{"id":3064,"date":"2022-05-06T08:20:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T06:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jessicazecchini.it\/senza-categoria\/psicoterapia-di-gruppo-online-per-adulti-vittime-di-abusi-nellinfanzia\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T12:40:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T10:40:23","slug":"online-group-psychotherapy-for-adults-who-were-victims-of-childhood-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jessicazecchini.it\/en\/articles\/online-group-psychotherapy-for-adults-who-were-victims-of-childhood-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"ONLINE GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR ADULTS WHO WERE VICTIMS OF CHILDHOOD ABUSE: 10 SESSIONS ON ZOOM"},"content":{"rendered":"

How can childhood traumas predispose adults to greater vulnerability in developing depression, dissociative symptoms, anxiety, or substance abuse? What are the childhood traumas that can compromise a healthy attachment relationship? What are internal working models, and what is the difference between secure and insecure attachment behavior? In this article, I will provide a description of my project, consisting of 10 meetings on the Zoom platform, aimed at adults who wish to work therapeutically in a group to heal from childhood abuse.<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

As Martin Teicher (2000) wrote: \u201cMaltreatment and abuse produce scars that are difficult to heal, or perhaps never completely heal.\u201d<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

The early years of life are fundamental for the development of an adult who must have good self-esteem, a positive self-representation in relation to others, and respect for life and its value. This condition changes when a child suffers abuse during this sensitive stage. The wounds that accompany their growth then become dangerous due to the potential effects they will have in adulthood. One of the most serious aspects of such abuse lies in the fact that it is perpetrated by caregivers\u2014those who should protect and care for the child. This trauma triggers relational problems in adulthood, characterized by distrust of others and of partners, showing how, once the ability to trust is lost in early childhood, it becomes almost impossible\u2014except through therapeutic work\u2014to become an adult capable of building stable and constructive relationships. The distrust leads to relational acting out (distancing, rejection after an initial phase of closeness, idealization and devaluation, dependency and avoidance). When such traumas occur in childhood, their effects may manifest as substance abuse, anxiety disorders, depression, dissociative disorders, or suicidal ideation. This framework shows how necessary it is to intervene promptly, to help adults with unhappy childhoods work through their traumatic experiences, and to repair that painful past that still interferes in their lives through self-destructive behaviors\u2014even though they are now grown adults whose problems lie in their past.<\/p>\n

My project aspires to help many formerly traumatized children, now adults still wounded by their family histories, who need to express themselves and share within a group setting that can serve as a container for reworking their experiences.<\/p>\n

Childhood trauma and emotional wounds of those with unhappy childhoods<\/b><\/h3>\n

When I talk about psychological trauma, I refer to all those situations in which an event causes helplessness, pain, and a state of vulnerability that alters the individual\u2019s psychic life. In one of my blog articles (\u201cChildhood psychological trauma and its consequences on development: the role of attachment in the transmission of trauma and its effects on the psyche\u201d), I mentioned several scientific studies showing that experiences of maltreatment (neglect, overprotection, miscare, physical and psychological abuse, sexual abuse, witnessing violence) during childhood lead to increased vulnerability to developing dissociative symptoms, depression, and anxiety. I also highlighted the importance of the attachment relationship established in the early years between child and caregiver, and how traumatic experiences impair the formation of mirror neurons, negatively influencing introspective and empathic abilities, as well as relational capacities of both the child and the future adult. For this reason, it is crucial to focus on the traumas and wounds that have compromised the possibility of establishing secure attachment relationships between caregiver and child, which provide the sense of security and trust in life and the world that is present in the childhood of securely attached adults.<\/p>\n

Types of trauma<\/b><\/h3>\n