Question from a reader
I do not mean to impose upon you, but I need some help in trying to ascertain a young child's psychological situation. I believe this little girl is being abused by at least one and possibly both her parents. I was witness to an event which I would call abuse one time, but have also seen bruises on her that were explained as "accidents". A year ago she displayed an alternate personality by the name of Sally, her mother attributes this to an overactive imagination. This year I just saw her again at Thanksgiving and my daughter tells me she overheard her speaking to yet a third person by the name of Maria. I am very concerned about this situation and do noy know where to turn to for help. This little girl is my husband;'s neice and there is a sad history of depression and abuse in this family. I really want to do something to help but I need to make sure I am on the right path first. Why would this personality situation not draw the attention of teachers or other people? i hope I am wrong. Thanks for any help you can offer. This whole thing is making me physically ill.
For this... I really can't say, since I'm not a doctor or therapist or anything. You'd have to know the little girl better and know what she's going through, whether it might be other personalities or imaginary friends or something inbetween or something else entirely. A lot of stuff that I went through didn't draw the attention of teachers or others either. Perhaps you could talk to her parent. The little girl would need to see a profession to find out if there's anything going on with her. I'm certainly not qualified to judge anything especially over the internet.
Posted by pilgrim | Filed under: The Good Days
This little girl is a relation of yours, which does give you a chance to see her in settings other than those a professional would. How often and how deep is your contact with her? You are concerned for her, but hesitant to go further. Has anyone else in your family mentioned concerns for the neice's welfare?Perhaps Sally is gone and Maria is the replacement imaginary friend? I don't know how any of this works for a child, or how abuse affects their psychology. A professional would be the one to contact, I'm just a concerned person who loves children too. If it is abuse, the physical signs could be hidden by clothing, but a doctor would see these. Mental problems could be hidden by shyness or other personality, but a teacher would see these.Maybe it is just a case of a little kid who falls alot and has an imaginary friend to cope with emotional difficulty.I wish the best to the little girl.