NCJ Number
162778
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: (1995) Pages: 133- 135
Date Published
1995
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Mental health professionals who evaluate children in cases of alleged child sexual abuse must seek the truth while respecting the person, maintaining confidentiality, protecting the child from harm, and being fair.
Abstract
Reading the current literature and integrating it with older information is basic to keeping up with knowledge. They must recognize the pitfalls of countertransference and biases, which are crucial issues raised by Milchman. It is a professional and ethical requirement to leave personal issues at the examination room door when doing child sexual abuse evaluations. The critics who accuse professionals of conducting witch hunts also need to examine their motives for their intense opposition to the conduct of ethically performed child sexual abuse allegations. For professionals to put themselves in the child's place may not be completely realistic, but it has some value in deciding what ethical position is appropriate. Consideration of the rights and sensibilities of all the parties in child sexual abuse cases, with concern for wide-ranging possibilities inherent in these cases, should be the guiding principle. 1 reference