“I Could Never Work With Those People . . . ”: Secondary Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse Via a Brief Training for Therapists About Pedophilia
“I Could Never Work With Those People . . . ”: Secondary Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse Via a Brief Training for Therapists About Pedophilia
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Volume 34, Issue 20, Page 4281-4302, October 2019.
Sexual abuse prevention efforts should ideally include counseling for people who have attractions to children before they offend. Due to a variety of factors, many therapists do not wish to work with this population. The aim of this pilot project was to create, implement, and evaluate a short training workshop to help prepare clinical therapists (n = 94) to respond ethically and effectively to individuals seeking counseling for pedophilic interests. Data were collected at four different clinical-therapy professional conferences over the course of 14 months. The pretest/posttest design asked questions about six specific areas of knowledge related to pedophilia, mandatory reporting, treatment needs, and goals for this difficult-to-reach population. In addition, six questions were asked about attitudes toward working with minor-attracted persons and capacity to build a therapeutic relationship. Some significant changes were detected in knowledge and attitudes about clients with pedophilia after receiving training about the topic, indicating increased willingness to work with this population and improved feelings of competence in providing services. Implications for prevention are discussed.
Sexual abuse prevention efforts should ideally include counseling for people who have attractions to children before they offend. Due to a variety of factors, many therapists do not wish to work with this population. The aim of this pilot project was to create, implement, and evaluate a short training workshop to help prepare clinical therapists (n = 94) to respond ethically and effectively to individuals seeking counseling for pedophilic interests. Data were collected at four different clinical-therapy professional conferences over the course of 14 months. The pretest/posttest design asked questions about six specific areas of knowledge related to pedophilia, mandatory reporting, treatment needs, and goals for this difficult-to-reach population. In addition, six questions were asked about attitudes toward working with minor-attracted persons and capacity to build a therapeutic relationship. Some significant changes were detected in knowledge and attitudes about clients with pedophilia after receiving training about the topic, indicating increased willingness to work with this population and improved feelings of competence in providing services. Implications for prevention are discussed.
Jill S. Levenson