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Sexual abuse homepage NSPCC services Statistics on child sexual abuse |
Research shows that sexual abuse can affect children and young people in many different ways including: direct physical harm; impairment of cognitive, behavioural and physical development; mental health issues; and behaviour and relationship problems.
However, with the exception of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), therapeutic approaches to helping sexually abused children have received little attention from researchers, and there is a lack of hard evidence as to their effectiveness.
The evidence that does exist points to the importance of: the therapeutic alliance between the client and the therapist, the involvement of the non-abusing parent, and the adoption of a child-centric approach.
This report follows on from an earlier study, which mapped the therapeutic services available in the UK. The findings from these two pieces of research have fed into a guide for therapeutic practitioners – Letting the future in – which is currently undergoing testing. The evaluation of this guide should provide much needed new evidence about the effectiveness of a wide range of therapies.
Sexual abuse and therapeutic services for children and young people: the gap between provision and need
Allnock et al, 2009
Sexual abuse: a public health challenge
Jon Brown, Trish O'Donnell and Marcus Erooga, 2011
Letting the future in: an intervention for children or young people affected by sexual abuse
An NSPCC service working with sexually abused children and young people.
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