Metodologie valutative nell'abuso e nella trascuratezza: per una diagnosi non solipsistica

Theoretical background: Clinical intervention in child abuse and neglect cannot be performed on the basis of a “self-gratifying” diagnostic procedure. Especially considering such intervention within a territorial child abuse unit, clinicians should move forward an accurate assessment and description of individuals and their possible symptomatic patterns in order to define treatment. Objective: Crucial ethical - before than clinical - implications of intervention in child abuse and neglect make it necessary to adopt a “multipurpose diagnostic framework”. Peculiarities of this framework will be highlighted in the article. Critical discussion and conclusions: We can summarize them as follows: a) interpersonal trauma in the light of intergenerational transmission is the actual target of a multipurpose diagnosis; b) as a consequence, peculiar diagnostic tools should be adopted in order to assess intrapsychic and interpersonal processes that cannot be intended as mere symptoms; c) after the strict assessment phase, diagnostic data derived from such tools should guide and make it possible to follow-up on interventions for the family involved in abusive situations; d) clinicians should use the same diagnostic data as a rationale for the development of possible psychotherapeutic treatments, singling out the appropriate and effective treatment practices; e) a multiporpuse diagnosis acknowledges the abused and neglected child as a n individual whose moral development is put at high risk, therefore considering intervention with this respect as a new frontier