Psychic structure of a group of professional therapists of children and adolescents who have had experiences of sexual abuse in the city of Medellín, Colombia

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Luz Elena Ocampo Otalvaro
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5614-3022
Julián Vargas Porras
Sebastián Manrique Quiroz

Abstract

Objective: to describe the psychic structure of a group of professional therapists of children and adolescents who have had experiences of sexual abuse (Group 1) in comparison with a group of professional therapists who do not serve this type of population of the city of Medellín (Group 2). Method: we started from a non-experimental quantitative approach, cross-sectional design, with a comparative descriptive scope. The sample was intentional by availability of subjects, divided into two groups: Group 1 (child sexual abuse therapists) was formed by 84 per cent of women and 16% of men and Group 2 (therapists who do not work child sexual abuse) by 64% of women and 36% of males (n = 50, with 25 in each of the groups). The instrument used was the Bochum inventory of personality and skills (BIP). Results: in Group 1 were found significant correlations between emotional stability and working capacity (.79), average correlation between emotional stability and image distortion (.52), working capacity and image distortion (.55), self-confidence and image distortion (.56). In Group 2 were found medium correlations between emotional stability and working capacity (.54), between work and self-confidence (.50) and a significant correlation between work capacity and image distortion (.76). A significant difference in the median test for independent samples was observed in the distortion of the image variable (p= .046). Conclusions: the analysis shows that there are no significant statistical differences between the groups studied, except for emotional stability and distortion of the image, where Group 2 therapists tend to show lower levels of stability and an image with a more negative bias, that is, a tendency to be more self-critical than in Group 1.

Keywords:
Psychic structure child sexual abuse therapist psychotherapist personal style

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Article Details

Author Biographies

Luz Elena Ocampo Otalvaro, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

PhD en Psicología

Julián Vargas Porras, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

Estudiante de Psicología

Sebastián Manrique Quiroz, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

Estudiante de Psicología

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