NCJ Number
168022
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 21 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1997) Pages: 681-690
Date Published
1997
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article describes a centralized treatment project for young people who have sexually abused others and shows how group work with potentially isolated local professionals may help treatment programs maintain a systemic perspective.
Abstract
In the project, young people and professionals participate in review and follow-up meetings. Group meetings take place weekly and are designed to be mutually supportive and task-centered. The group treatment program is intended to protect children, stop sexually abusive behavior, allow for appropriate expression of painful feelings, make participants aware of the experiences and needs of others, change distorted thinking about children and other potential victims, make young persons aware of their own sexuality, and promote cognitive mechanisms to help young people learn how to control abusive thoughts and behavior. Recurring themes observed during two 30-week treatment programs are analyzed with respect to two key areas: (1) cognitive-emotional processing of common reactions to work with sexual abuse; and (2) interprofessional communication to balance requirements of child protection and therapy. The authors conclude that local professional networks may promote the clinical effectiveness of treatment programs for young perpetrators of sexual abuse and that the professional group described in the article is a relatively low-cost approach to integrating the work of a central treatment facility with the work of more distant, community-based agencies. 22 references and 1 table