"An essential resource for child protection workers, mental health practitioners, lawyers, and law enforcement personnel, Understanding and Assessing Child Sexual Maltreatment, Second Edition is also an ideal supplementary text for graduate courses in child welfare practice, social work, and psychology."--BOOK JACKET.

Despite increased awareness of the problem of sexual abuse, most institutions training the helping professions have trouble compiling material for their regular curricula on child sexual victimization. This book fills the need for all the relevant material to be drawn together in an accessible form. The clear structure takes the reader through terms and approaches and provides useful guidelines for dealing with sexual maltreatment. It will be an indispensable tool for helping professionals and others making assessment and intervention decisions in cases of child sexual abuse.

`It was a pleasure to read Sandra Hewitt's book because she obviously writes from an in-depth experience of working with young children. Her book also communicates a passionate concern that professionals need to understand and listen properly to children and avoid viewing the stressful area of child protection mainly from an adult perspective' - Children and SocietyWritten to help frontline practitioners assess and manage cases with children aged 18 months to six years who present with allegations of child abuse, this book provides concrete and easily understood information about basic child development, interview procedures and case management theory.Extensive experience is integrated with the research literature to provide: an overview of child development information as it applies to interviewing young children; a protocol for assessment of preverbal children that is grounded in theory and research; a format for assessment of children aged three to five; a review of the strengths and weaknesses of some current interview formats; a technique for structured interviewing; and a procedure for structured reunification of a child with an alleged abuser after unproven allegations. Case examples are used throughout the book.

The editors of this collection are experienced practitioners and teachers of forensic psychology. They have collected chapters written by nationally and internationally respected experts in applied research and practice to provide others with their best advice and knowledge on conducting evaluations for and testifying in court.

A comprehensive guide to the identification, assessment, and treatment of child sexual abuse The field of child sexual abuse has experienced an explosion of research, literature, and enhanced treatment methods over the last thirty years. Representing the latest refinements of thought in this field, Handbook of Child Sexual Abuse: Identification, Assessment, and Treatment combines the most current research with a wealth of clinical experience. The contributing authors, many of whom are pioneers in their respective specialties, include researchers and clinicians, forensic interviewers and law enforcement professionals, caseworkers and victim advocates, all of whom do the work of helping children who have been sexually victimized. Offering a snapshot of the state of the field as it stands today, Handbook of Child Sexual Abuse explores a variety of issues related to child sexual abuse, from identification, assessment, and treatment methods to models for implementation and prevention, including: The impact of sexual abuse on the developing brain The potential implications of early sexual victimization Navigating the complexities of multidisciplinary teams Forensic interviewing and clinical assessment Treatment options for children who have traumagenic symptoms as a response to their sexual victimization Treating children with sexual behavior problems and adolescents who engage in illegal sexual behavior Secondary trauma and vicarious traumatization Cultural considerations and prevention efforts Edited by a leader in the field of child therapy, this important reference equips helping professionals on the front lines in the battle against child sexual abuse not merely with state-of-the-art knowledge but also with a renewed vision for the importance of their role in the shaping of our culture and the healing of victimized children.

It is important for society that the backlash does not result in the reburial of the problem of child sexual abuse. ‘True and False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse’ represents an important contribution to that effort. This book is about conducting evaluations of allegations of child sexual abuse that take into account research knowledge and practice wisdom. It is not a cookbook about how to do evaluations. Rather, it provides a great deal of food for thought and is aimed at child abuse professionals who can critically read and test the material against their experiences in the field. It includes a wide spectrum of information, approaches, and opinions about child sexual abuse evaluation.

Child maltreatment professionals from all disciplines struggle to find better ways of understanding and treating the families and children affected by maltreatment. Since the mid-1960s, the "battered child syndrome," and recent high-profile abuse cases, a plethora of research and literature on child maltreatment has emerged, yet this is the first volume to offer a comprehensive integrated analysis for understanding, assessing, and treating child maltreatment within the ecological framework in a developmental context. This framework systematically organizes and integrates the complex empirical literature in child maltreatment and development, including the often-overlooked period of adolescence. Viewing child maltreatment from an ecological perspective, this volume identifies the risk and protective factors correlated with abuse and neglect. The authors present a comprehensive assessment framework, addressing the multiple developmental and environmental factors unique to each case. This framework fully considers risk and protective factors and their relationship to individuals, families, and environmental elements, presenting a much-needed perspective for today's child protective services workers. Understanding Child Maltreatment is the first of its kind. While most books broadly address the developmental consequences of maltreatment, this volume goes further by proposing assessment and intervention strategies based on a deep understanding of each stage of a child's development. Interventions center on the caregiver and the family, with particular attention to parenting skills and the challenges the child may experience within his or her developmental stage. Each chapter emphasizes empirically based interventions and includes a case illustration that guides readers in applying these concepts to their own practice. Providing a comprehensive, nuanced perspective on maltreatment, this book will be invaluable to students, researchers, and professionals.