A Clinical Psychologist with the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Daniel Fordjour has recommended immediate and intensive psychological attention for Stephanie whose hand was damaged by a foster mother.
Nine-year-old Stephanie had her hand held in boiling water for taking two Ghana Cedis belonging to her guardian, without asking, to buy food.
The injury was managed at home for days until the fingers began deteriorating.
Responding to cases of child abuse, where victims often do not access support from the Social Welfare Department, Mr. Fordjour stated the psychological damage on the girl may be irreparable due to the lasting imprints of the incident on her mind.
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“The child is a girl. She’s going to grow up to be a mother. She is going to have anxieties about how mothering another human being is because of what she’s gone through.
“This is a damage that is going to be difficult to repair. Even the physical ones we are struggling to do this. Psychological one will be much more difficult,” he said.
Stephanie has undergone two surgical operations at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and there is the fear of losing some of her fingers.
Speaking to David Akuetteh on Luv Fm, the Clinical Psychologist said the actions of the foster mother will not only affect the emotions of little Stephanie but her children, too.
“What this mother has done has caused a lot of traumas for the child, including the 5-month-old baby she’s breastfeeding. Because it is already on social media. This child is going to grow up.
“By the time they start looking at videos on social media, they will find their mother there. Their mother’s name is going to be all around and they will find out what their mother had done,” he said.
Daniel Fordjour recommends intensive psychological attention for children who suffer abuse.
“Certain psychological help that will follow-up should go on for a while to deal with all the negative conditions that Stephanie might have formed in her own mind and even will be forming per the experiences she will face as she’s growing.
“This is a long-term kind of help that this child needs,” he added.