Citation

Agar K, Read J. Int. J. Ment. Health Nurs. 2002; 11(2): 70-79.

Affiliation

Psychology Department, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc., Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12430188

Abstract

The files of 200 users of a community mental health centre revealed that 46% of the files contained documentation of sexual or physical abuse as children or adults. Only 36% of summary formulations and 33% of treatment plans for the abused clients mentioned the abuse. Only 22% of the abused clients received abuse-focused therapy. Response rates were lower for clients who were male or had a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis, and if the clinician was male or a psychiatrist. None of the alleged crimes, past, recent or ongoing, was reported to legal authorities. Development of unit policies and training programmes to ensure appropriate response to abuse histories is recommended.

Language: en