Week 5: The Murder of Yeardley Love
Introduction
The killing of Yeardley Love was mysterious. Today, many young women are falling victims of the exact partner abuse Yeardley Love encountered. The purpose of this paper is to hypothesize how it may be difficult for a therapist to assess and identify this abuse. In the paper, the uses of the abuse cycle in detecting partner abuse will be described.
Assuming there was abuse occurring before the death of Yeardley Love, hypothesize how it may have been difficult for a counselor to assess and identify this abuse
In reference to the case, assessing and identifying physical abuse on Yeardley Love might have been difficult for various reasons:
George had coercive control: It is highly probable that George exercised coercive control over Yeardley. Following George’s attack on her, while socializing and visiting her friends, it is clear that Yeardley had no independence; she always felt anxious and afraid (Jessica, 2010). According to her friends and family, Yeardley was ever happy and cheerful. Since she had never shown any signs of going through any form of abuse, it would have been difficult for a counselor to assess her. In therapy, counselors assess clients based on their unusual behavior. Although Yeardley Love experienced stress, fear, trauma, and low self-esteem, she did not show it and thus impossible for a therapist to identify any form of abuse.
Yeardley Love never reported partner abuse: In most times, victims of partner abuse go to seek therapy services out of their conscience. The first attack, where Yeardley’s face was left bruised, went unreported (Jessica, 2010). Since Yeardley Love did not take action to report George’s physical abuse, identifying this abuse could have been difficult for a therapist. The fact that Yeardley never reported the previous attacks to the University makes it difficult to assess her for the violence. Also, counselors only assess a victim who willingly reports any form of abuse to intervene and help; this did not happen with Yeardley Love.
Lack of warning signs: Normally, counselors rely on warning signs to identify partner abuse and to assess the victim for treatment. Yeardley’s trauma, fear, stress, and anxiety were not visible for she was sociable and always happy while at home, in the field, and with friends (Jessica, 2010). Her partner violence vigilance was below expectations, for she should have made it clear that George was rude and violent to her. In counseling, therapists rely on the warning signs to identify the abuse and assess the victim for treatment, information that was not available in the Yeardley Love case.
Describe how a counselor’s knowledge of the abuse cycle would assist in detecting partner abuse
The abuse cycle involves tension building, incident, reconciliation, and calm. Knowledge of this cycle is useful for counselors in the detection of partner abuse. The abuse cycle enables a counselor to provide….
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Conclusion
Identifying and assessing Yeardley Love abuse may have been hard for a therapist because her boyfriend exercised coercive control over her, Yeardley never reported the abuse, and that Yeardley did not exhibit any warning signs for partner violence. Using the abuse cycle allows a therapist to provide a victim of partner abuse with a place to vent, receive support, heal, forgive, and restore happiness.
References
- Berry, D. B. (2000). The domestic violence sourcebook. Los Angeles, CA: Lowell House.
- Jackson-Cherry, L., & Erford, B. (2014). Crisis Assessment, Intervention, and Prevention (3rd ed.). New York: Pearson.
- Jessica, B. (2010, December 5). It turns Out, Yeardley Love Couldn’t Have Gotten a Restraining Order If She Wanted To. Culture, 3-8.