Treatment of Children Sexually Abused in a Day Care Setting
Titel:
Treatment of Children Sexually Abused in a Day Care Setting
Auteur:
Mowbray, Carol T. Bybee, Deborah
Verschenen in:
Journal of child sexual abuse
Paginering:
Jaargang 4 (1996) nr. 3 pagina's 31-54
Jaar:
1996-01-08
Inhoud:
While reports of out-of-home child sexual abuse have increased, as well as realization of its traumatic aftereffects, there is little in the literature to guide therapists as to specific treatment techniques for these cluld victims. This report presents a detailed description of the actual process of outpatient therapy provided to 56 children who were alleged victims of a day care sexual abuse case. The problems presented by children were multiple and serious. Planned goals frequently addressed feelings about the abuse, acting out problems, fears of nightmares, and self-esteem issues. Therapists utilized a wide variety of techniques, differentiated to some extent according to the treatment goal. Most therapist activities reflected a psychotherapeutic approach; educational interventions were also evident. Social integration approaches were less frequently utilized. Therapy duration related to the occurrence of family crises, reason for case termination, presence of a treatment goal involving fear reduction, and family income. The latter finding was surprising, given the fact that therapy was provided at State expense. Implications are discussed in terms of the need to develop more models of child treatment, to better examine decision-making about the length of treatment and the use of multiple modalities, and to increase family retention in therapy by adjusting appointment times and encouraging parental involvement.