NCJ Number
170863
Date Published
1997
Length
171 pages
Annotation
This book discusses therapy for sexually abused boys, the effects of therapy, the relationship between trauma and symptoms, which clients run the risk of abusing again, and prevention and its effects.
Abstract
The book is a record of Radda Barnen's (Swedish for "Save the Children") work at the Boys' Clinic in Stockholm, Sweden. The two authors (social worker and psychotherapist) have been working at the clinic since its opening in 1990. Focusing on cases in which boys have been victims of sexual abuse by their fathers, mothers, siblings, neighbors, and strangers, as well as child caretakers, the authors address the many issues associated with child sexual abuse. The emphasis is on the fears and anxieties specific to boys who have been abused. The book describes various cases with which the clinic has dealt and profiles child molesters. The therapy provided at the clinic emphasizes a free venting of feelings by victims, freedom of movement during therapy sessions, and reflection. The central themes of the therapy are a description of the abuse, expression of feelings about the abuse, saying "no" and setting boundaries, and acceptance. The description of the abuse is designed to help the client move beyond the detrimental effects of keeping the abuse a secret from others. The expression of emotions helps the boys deal with guilt and complicity, shame, self-image, feelings of being different, aggression, sexual acting-out, and fear. Helping the children accept what has happened to them and move on with their lives is facilitated with rituals, such as devising a symbolic "saying goodbye" to the abuser. Some of the issues dealt with in therapy for particular victims are discussed. 34 references