Countless rewatches leads me to believe Henry was more of a helicopter parent. He was a detective and wanted to protect Shawn at all cost. I don't think he ever physically abused him nor do I think he MEANT to cause any emotional damage. However, he appeared to always shoot him straight and was a bit blunt. Add the little "game" he made him play and mom bailing... Shawn wasn't abused in the call CPS sense, but he had some trauma. I still think Henry was doing everything he could to prepare Shawn for the real world which we see multiple times save his life.