Citation

Wherry JN, Huey CC, Medford EA. J. Child Sex. Abus. 2015; 24(3): 280-299.

Affiliation

a Dallas Children's Advocacy Center , Dallas , Texas , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10538712.2015.1009606

PMID

25942286

Abstract

Mental health services are a core component of child advocacy centers in the United States. Child advocacy center directors were surveyed about (a) trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder; (b) referral criteria for treatment of abuse victims; (c) evidence-based treatments for abused children; (d) reliable, valid, and normed measures helpful in assessment; and (e) training needs. Directors accurately identified posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, but additional symptoms were misidentified. Directors identified best practices for assessment and treatment, but they misidentified non-evidence-based practices. Primary reasons for referral for services included severity of abuse and emotional response of the child. However, referrals based on assessment findings were not a high priority. Directors expressed some training needs for staff consistent with issues identified in the study.

Language: en