The Elmcrest Project: an evaluation of group therapeutic techniques in developing resiliency in children who have been exposed to women abuse in the home

The author discusses the impact on children who are exposed to woman abuse in the home. Research indicates that these children demonstrate a high frequency of externalizing and internalizing behavior difficulties. However, not all children who grow up in maritally violent homes are behaviorally disturbed nor do all become involved in abusive relationships as adults. Adjustment problems of children who have been subject to various traumas have been shown to be highly variable. The research on "resilient" children emphasizes the importance of including the protective and vulnerability factors both within the child and his/her environment to explain this difference in response to adversity. This paper suggests that children's resiliency might be enhanced through their participation in a group treatment model of intervention. The Elmcrest Project is presented as such a model and the author's experience co-facilitating the Fall, 1998 "Lunch Group" is described.