Youth Advocacy & Therapy Tips

Children who have been sexually abused have often experienced an entire series of traumatic events, from multiple victimizations to seriously disrupted relationships with their parents. These children's experiences can't be described with the traditional posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) label; their fundamental ways of interacting with the world and sometimes even their biological functions are changed because of the chronic, pervasive stress to which they have been exposed at this…

In cases of child sexual abuse, some prosecutors discourage parents or others from placing a child in therapy until after the trial. The fear is that therapy will create memory and suggestibility issues which may be used by defense counsel to attack the child's credibility. Therapists confronting this issue can make the following points.

1. If a child wants or needs therapy, it is unethical to withhold this treatment. Numerous studies document that sexual abuse…

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a therapeutic technique that helps clients to deal with trauma and disturbing memories. Developed by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., in the 1980s, EMDR has been extensively researched and found to be an effective method of treating posttraumatic stress. The theory behind EMDR is that trauma memories must be disrupted not only cognitively but also neurologically, allowing the brain to handle past trauma in a different manner. EMDR is…

At WCSAP, we receive a lot of questions from advocates about the "ins and outs" of mandated reporting. Although Washington's law about mandated reporting is pretty straightforward, it can feel much more complex in practice. Here are some quick answers (that do not constitute legal advice) to some of the recent questions we have received on this topic:

Q:

Do I need to report sexual abuse of a minor that is not committed by a parent or caregiver? What…