Many will already know the case of Beth Thomasan intriguing story that is having a strong impact on social networks and that has not left anyone indifferent. Both for those who have not yet heard of this girl and for those who have, we recommend continuing reading this article.
This story is about a girl who He lost his mother when he was only one year old.. She and her brother were placed under the guardianship of her biological father, who sexually abused the two minors. Luckily, the abuses were detected by doctors and the children were taken in by a social worker six months later.
Luckily for Beth and her little brother Jonathan, they were both adopted by a Christian couple who were eager to be parents but could not conceive. Everything seemed to be going well until Beth began to report that she was having very strange nightmares.and they realized that something was not going well.
Nightmares, a prelude to little Beth’s antisocial behavior
The little girl’s nightmares were about a man who “fell on top of her and hurt her with a part of him.” In addition, Beth showed violent behavior towards her brother, her parents and animals. (whom he even killed). In addition to anger, they also found that Beth displayed inappropriate sexual behavior: the girl masturbated publicly and excessively, causing bleeding.
These facts made parents consider the possibility of seeing a psychologist. Precisely in the course of Beth’s diagnosis and psychological therapy, the video that has traveled the world was recorded: an interview with Beth conducted by Dr. Ken Magid, a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of children who are victims of severe sexual abuse. What this psychologist discovered about the causes and effects of sexual abuse is the subject of study in all psychology schools.
The chilling dialogues between Beth and her psychologist
This is a short transcript of the beginning of the interview:
-“Dr. Ken: Are people afraid of you Beth?
-Beth: Yes.
-Dr. Ken: Are your parents afraid of you?
-Beth: Yes.
-Dr. Ken: What would you do with them?
-Beth: Stab them.
-Dr. Ken: What would you do with your brother?
-Beth: Kill him.
-Dr. Ken: Who would you like to stick pins in?
-Beth: In mom and dad.
-Dr. Ken: What would you like to see happen with them?
-Beth: Let them die.”
The little girl admitted to having physically abused her brother
Beth He admitted, in his conversations with Dr Ken and with complete coldness, to having mistreated his brother. always, banging his head against the floor, sticking pins all over his body and in his private parts, stretching and kicking his genitals… She even explained that she once tried to kill him, and only stopped because her parents discovered her. . She admitted that she had also seriously considered killing her parents on several occasions and that she routinely abused her pets. She was not content with just that, she went so far as to kill several animals that were roaming around the patio of her house.
Given all these events that she herself was recounting, Beth He admitted that he did not feel any type of remorse or guilt.his tone of voice in all his statements was cold and calm, as if he were explaining some trivial anecdote. When asked about the reason why she acted this way, she responded that she wanted to make her feel everything she felt in the past during her father’s abuse. Likewise, in response to all the doctor’s questions regarding whether she was aware that these acts would cause suffering in the other person, she calmly admitted that yes, that was precisely what she wanted.
Internment in a special center and psychological treatment
After a long interview, The psychologist obtained enough information to lead him to decide to institutionalize the girl. in a treatment center for children with different behavioral disorders. Beth was diagnosed with a serious attachment disorderwhich is characterized by the development of the inability to establish healthy and adequate relationships, due in this case to the history of sexual abuse and mistreatment by his father.
The attachment disorder requires urgent psychological attention, otherwise it could become a danger for Beth herself and her family, due to the complete lack of empathy she showed, which could be comparable to disorders such as sociopathy or psychopathy. The reason Beth was not diagnosed as a psychopath at that time is because she at that time The existence of dissocial personality disorder was not yet known. (antisocial personality disorder before age 18), about which there is still extensive debate among mental health academics.
Psychological treatment to control your antisocial impulses
The treatment imposed on Beth was very strict and orderly. Specially designed for children with the same disorder, for whom it is very difficult to respect rules and habits. During the night, and to prevent him from hurting other children, Beth was locked in a room. Likewise, he had to ask permission for everything, from going to the bathroom to even drinking water.
With the passage of time, The restrictions became less strict and Beth progressively improved..
Beth was able to fully recover and today she is a person with a normal life.
At the end of the video we can see the great progress in Beth’s treatment. Over the years, we can see Beth as a person with the ability to empathize and be aware of the consequences of her actions. Obviously, her apparent ‘badness’ had its genesis in the continued abuse of which she was a victim as a baby, and her case serves to illustrate the calamitous consequences of physical and psychological abuse at a young age.
At the moment, Beth leads a normal life and works as a nurse. Her professional merits have earned her several awards.
This case makes us reach the following conclusions: the importance of good parenting, especially in the child’s critical periods. But it also tells us about the effectiveness (at least in this case) of psychological therapy, even in cases of extreme severity that may seem irreconcilable.
What were the psychotherapeutic keys to your recovery?
This total psychological recovery of little Beth could be achieved by making the girl aware of her actions, increasing her self-esteem, in addition to cementing functional social habits and behaviors, for example by making her capable of accepting certain norms and being able to manage, channel and understand the reason for his anger.
We recommend you watch the entire documentary on Beth’s case, carried out by the HBO network in 1992. It is really interesting and it is advisable to know this case in depth, for everything it can teach us as professionals and as human beings.
