Children with Sexual Behavior Issues

1. Children with Sexual Behavior Issues Jane F. Gilgun, PhD, LICSW School of Social Work University of Minnesota, Twin Cities jgilgun@umn.edu http://ssw.che.umn.edu\faculty\jgilgun.htm Day 2 June 21, 2007

2. Topics • Psychoeducation and Group Treatment • Comprehensive Programs • Treatment Exercises • Indicators that Children are Learning to Manage Their Sexual Behaviors • Emotional Costs of Work with Families Where Children Have Sexual Behavior Issues • Self-Reflections

3. Comprehensive Programs • Individual treatment • With parental involvement • Peer group • With parental involvement • Family Therapy • Couples Therapy • Case Management • Multiple Family Groups • Psychoeducation throughout

4. Appropriate Reponses • Look for resources, competencies, and risks • Gentle limit setting • Consultation • Encourage parents to • take responsibility for whatever contributions they have • Participate in whatever treatment/programs that therapists recommend • Structure, supervision, support, openness to children

5. Summary of Key Points • Encourage children • to speak openly about their inappropriate behaviors • To participate in treatment • To follow social rules • To find someone to depend on and to trust

6. Summary of Key Points • For social workers • Consultation • Resource issues • Collaborate with other professionals • Personal relationships key • Sadness, frustration, hurt • Sense of accomplishment and meaning • Take care of yourself • Sense of humor

7. Family Therapy • Can do assessment of family dynamics • Can teach family new ways of interacting • Direct instruction • Practice • By their observation of you

8. Family Therapy • Kids can’t do what parents can’t do. • Mother: • You told me Daddy was touching you sexually. I thought you were imagining it. I was wrong. I’m so sorry.

9. Family & Child Affect • Emotionally Expressive • Angry • Anxious • Hollow • Disorganized • Blaming • Denying

10. Some Treatment Exercisesfor Children’s Psychoeducation • Reading the book Feelings by Aliki (1987) with the children. • Presenting children with cartoons where the children state what the story is about and identify what the characters might be feeling; • Viewing a video about sexual abuse.

11. Some Treatment Exercisesfor Children’s Psychoeducation • Anger pyramid. • Feelings charades. • Collages. • Empathy letters. • Apology letters. • Reconciliation sessions.

12. Indicators that Children are Learning to Manage Their Sexual Behaviors • Children show assertiveness. • Previous taboo topics are on the table. • Children can ask questions that they were too ashamed to ask in the past. • Children tell on themselves. • Humor

13. Indicators that Children are Learning to Manage Their Sexual Behaviors • Signs of attachment to others • Affect becomes more animated. • Language becomes more concrete, specific, clear, and “pictorial” • Takes responsibility for their behaviors • Empathy for victims. • Parents set limits.

14. Some Therapeutic Issues • Importance of “Neutrality” • What does the term mean? • Lot of case management • Need for on-going consultation

15. Some Therapeutic Issues • We’re good at soothing and comforting • How much training do we have in dealing with clients who • sexualize us? • manipulate us? • trigger anger, fear, dread in us?

16. Self-Reflection • Memories related to sexuality • Early • Funny • Confusing • Evokes strong emotions • How did you learn differences between sex as a way of “getting rocks off” and communicating desire and intimacy • What are the multiple meanings of sexuality?

17. The End