1. Childhood Sexual Abuse and Treatment
General Guidelines for Creating an Effective Poster
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text to get your points across.
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introduction, body and conclusion, just like any other presentation.
Posters don’t need to be "arty". Simplicity, ease of reading, etc., are more
important than artistic flair.
In a room full of posters, consider the visual impact your presentation needs to
make in order to attract readers.
Use colors behind panels to increase contrast and impact, but avoid fluorescent
colors which will make things hard to read when someone gets closer.
Consider bringing extra copies of your data and conclusions.
Leathia Flores, MSW Candidate
The GRC Master of Social Work Program
Abstract
Data
Trauma Effects
Childhood sexual abuse is a public health problem that can affect children of all ages, sexes, races and ethnicities. Research show that childhood sexual abuse is significantly associated with several risk factors that contribute to the abuse. Children who experience sexual abuse show many signs of mental and physical health problems. Children are at greater risk to be abuse by someone they know and trust. Research suggest that substance use, inadequate parenting, supervision and protection place the child to be at risk for sexual abuse. Multiple research suggest that family dysfunction prompts sexual abuse to remain in secrecy and go unreported. The child then, may adapt to the family system of beliefs that sexual abuse is acceptable. Based on evidence, attachment theory is an affectional bond between child and caregiver and is crucial to a child’s development. Family systems theory suggest that healthy interactions in the family promotes an emotional balance. Studies suggest that early detection of childhood sexual abuse by social workers, child protectors, family and law enforcers decrease the likelihood of future incidents. Research reports that children who endured childhood sexual abuse require a series of evidence-based treatment guided by social workers with trauma-informed care competency and skills.
Statistics show approximately 90% of children who are victims of sexual abuse know their abuser. Only 10% of sexually abused children are abused by a stranger. Approximately 30% of children who are sexually abused are abused by family members. The younger the victim, the more likely it is that the abuser is a family member. Of those molesting a child under six, 50% were family members. Family members also accounted for 23% of those abusing children ages 12 to 17. About 60% of children who are sexually abused are abused by the people the family trusts (Darkness to Light, 2015).
Children re-experience their traumatic event with nightmares, flashbacks and dissociative episodes.
Children may avoid conversations, contact with people, places or situations that may trigger them to relive a trauma experience. In addition, children can experience symptoms of hyperarousal, have an increased irritability, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating and have exaggerated startle responses and physical aggression (Buss, et al., 2015).
Child sexual abuse impacts the child’s ability to process rational thinking, shape negative concepts of self and trusting others.
Victims of sexual abuse struggle with mixed feelings, confusion and isolation. They feel powerless because of not being able to alter the situation despite feeling the threat of harm and violation of their personal space (Collin-Vezina et al., 2013).
Childhood Sexual Abuse
Treatment for PTSD
There are many definitions for childhood sexual abuse. Childhood sexual abuse is described as a form of mistreatment towards children. It is a sexual act that involves abusive sexual contact, intentionally or inappropriate touching or penetration. This may include exposure of photos, videos or acts of prostitution or sex trafficking (Murry, Nguyen, and Cohen 2015). Sinanan (2015) describes child sexual abuse as any form sexual conduct with a child that results in rape or molestation and without consent.
Psychoeducation:
The child will process and normalize their traumatic memories, overcome problematic thoughts and behaviors and develop effective coping skills. The social worker and the client will have a general discussion and go over treatment. As well as educate them about sexual abuse, emotional and behavioral reactions to their sexual experience (Children’s Bureau, 2012).
Relaxation Techniques:
The primary focus is to control the child’s breathing with a visual imagery to help the child to fully focus on the image and relax (Children’s Bureau, 2012). The social worker will use cue words for relaxation such as, calm, relax, cool, soothe, and chill. The client will be instructed to inhale a normal breath through his or her nose rather than a deep breath and to exhale the breath slowly through the nose while silently saying the selected relaxation cue word (Chard and Gilman, 2005).
Narrative Therapy:
The client is encouraged to include a description of their thoughts and feelings experienced during their trauma. The social worker will provide verbal encouragement during the session and encourage clients to remain in the present tense when describing their trauma and to include their emotional and cognitive reactions during the imaginal exposure session. The client will be encouraged to focus fully on the stimuli until their distress is decreased by 50% (Chard and Gilman, 2005; Children’s Bureau, 2012).
 Thought Blocking:
Roleplaying is a guided self-dialog and thought stopping. The social worker will often teach their client in modules that build on each other. For example, a client might receive relaxation training while role-playing a difficult scenario she may face in the future. This will help the client to learn to remain calm in anxiety-provoking situations (Chard and Gilman, 2005).
References
Chard, K., & Gilman, R. (2005). Counseling trauma victims: 4 brief therapies meet the test
 PsycEXTRA Dataset,1-9. doi: /e
Child welfare information gateway trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children affected by sexual abuse or trauma. (n.d.). PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi: /e
DeCandia, C., & Guarino, K. (2015). Trauma-informed care: an ecological response. Journal of Child and Youth Care Work, 1-26.  
Collin-Vézina, D., Daigneault, I., & Hébert, M. (2013). Lessons learned from child sexual abuse
research: prevalence, outcomes, and preventive strategies. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
and Mental Health, 7, 22.