NCJ Number
208945
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: January-February 2005 Pages: 26-39
Date Published
January 2005
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article presents and reflects upon some of the findings from an evaluation of a therapeutic collaborative intervention for abused children in a British community.
Abstract
The Sunrise Project is hospital-based and works with clients up to the age of 18 who reside in North Town in the north of England. Although located within the community's health management structure under the supervision of a consultant child and family psychiatrist, the program is responsible to a joint management committee composed of multidisciplinary representatives with expertise in the various services needed by abused children and youth. The eclectic therapeutic approach used is predominantly individually focused under a combination of Rogerian counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy with older children. The evaluation collected data on all clients (n=67) referred to the project from January 2000 to Easter 2001. Data collected pertained to the nature of problems presented and the nature of work performed, individual and overall outcomes, and client and professional assessments of the interventions. Overall, the evaluation found that children experienced positive changes in specific areas of their functioning and behavior. Improvements, however, are not guaranteed by the program's method and structure but rather by the skills of the participating therapists. Further, the clients did not present acute crises with poor prognoses. This project represents a seamless intervention for abused children in which needs are identified and served within and across disciplines according to individual needs. 1 table, 1 figure, and 26 references