Child Sexual Abuse: A Primer for Treating Children, Adolescents, and Their Nonoffending Parents

Children who have been sexually abused not only often experience PTSD symptoms as a direct result of the trauma, but also develop unhealthy emotional responses and may engage in age-inappropriate sexual behaviors. In addition, parents also suffer from the trauma and thus are often in need of emotional support and guidance in responding to their children's needs.

Based on over 25 years of research supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN), and other funding sources, Child Sexual Abuse describes a premier empirically supported treatment approach for children, adolescents, and non-offending parents/caregivers impacted by child sexual abuse. Developed to provide support and to alleviate symptoms and problem behaviors in children and adolescents, trauma-focused CBT for child sexual abuse incorporates treatment components that provide children and their caregivers with education and coping skills training, while simultaneously addressing the trauma.

The book describes the nuts and bolts of treatment including trauma narration and processing that helps to alleviate children's distress and feelings of shame associated with the abuse. Parents are also taught effective behavior management skills, and treatment often culminates with a focus on parent-child communication and enhancing safety and future development. This highly effective treatment model can be adapted to be delivered in school-based, residential, home and/or group settings.