NCJ Number
234585
Date Published
2010
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This guide provides information to parents to help their child in the aftermath of sexual abuse.
Abstract
This booklet is intended for use in conjunction with an established professional program for individual, family, and/or group therapies. It serves as a starting point for parents who may feel left out of the recovery process, providing them with information on how to begin to meet their child's needs in the aftermath of an upsetting and unique childhood experience such as sexual abuse. Since qualified professional therapy has limitations (appointments occur for an hour a week and the sessions have a finite time frame), parental intervention can provide the most powerful and lasting benefit to a child. Tips for parents include: helping the child to re-establish boundaries by setting examples, creating everyday opportunities for the child to experience privacy and control over their own body; providing the child with sex and safety education, such as information about their bodies, their rights, and their responsibilities; suggestions for trying to return to normal routines, schedules, and rules; and information for parents to assess their own coping skills and methods and suggestions for ways to find help if needed. Additional mental health resources are provided as well titles of additional brochures about sexual abuse. Resources