Picking up the Pieces

Abstract

This chapter reports the findings from a review of contemporary assessment and treatment approaches with adult women who have experienced Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). The social worker who engages with women recovering from CSA in adulthood needs to address issues of trust, relationship, and safety. Services that provide culturally sensitive and appropriate models of intervention are likely to impact positively on client rapport and engagement with the social worker and, therefore, greater therapeutic gains are possible when a relationship of trust is established. The implications for social work practice are discussed in relation to a multi-systems and multi-theoretical approach involving the client and her social networks from within strengths-based and ecological systems perspectives. Future research is recommended on the impact of the availability of culturally appropriate services for CSA survivors and cultural safety supervision for social workers, as these variables influence the therapeutic outcomes for women survivors of CSA.