Promising Practice Programs

Kids Quest Project

Agency Sexual Assault Support Service Inc. (SASS)
PO Box 217
North Hobart 7000 TAS
Website www.sass.org.au
Contact Karen Jones
Chief Executive Officer
Ph (03) 6231-1811
Fax (03) 6231-5370
ceo@sass.org.au
Start date 2005-2006
End date SASS is currently running a trial, to be completed by 30 June 2005, which will inform the development of the program for 2005-2006.
Program type Community awareness/education program and a therapeutic-response program for child victim/survivors of sexual assault.
Geographical area Tasmania
Target group Children and parent/carers in the Hobart area.
Description Research on the outcomes for children victim/survivors of sexual assault who do not access counselling/ group work interventions indicates that ongoing developmental, behavioural and emotional problems are common. The effects on relationship and parenting skills when children become adults means that the repercussions of child sexual abuse may become inter-generational. The outlook for a child with unresolved sexualised behaviours is especially poor.

The Kids Quest program aims to:
  • break down the isolation experienced by children, parents/carers, and families as a result of child sexual abuse;
  • provide informational and support programs for parents/carers so that they are better equipped to support their children and themselves;
  • decrease the risk of children who have been subjected to sexual abuse from being further victimised through promotion of resilience, age-appropriate self-efficacy and pro-social skills;
  • address the effects of traumatic experience on children who have been abused; and
  • provide early intervention for children displaying sexualised behaviours, especially those at risk of offending against others.

Therapeutic group work for children The program recognises that all children are not the same. Over the long term, through the development of a range of groups the program aims to address, for example, the differing needs of boys and girls; the needs and developmental capacities of children at different ages; different cultural values and interests of minority communities; children displaying sexualised behaviours; children who have been severely traumatised; and needs of sibling groups (whether or not all have been subject to abuse).

The program also recognises a number of contra-indications that may militate against group work for an individual child. For example, the presence of psychosis or other mental illness; significant developmental delay; the likelihood of Court action; and the ability of an individual child to participate, at that time, in a particular group. The program trial (March to June 2005) involves 6 weekly sessions of group work for eight girls aged 7 to 11 years. The group will be run on two successive occasions and will take a mainly "narrative" approach.

Anticipated outcomes include:
  • normalised responses to the experience of abuse;
  • increased self-esteem, self-efficacy and problem solving ability; and
  • breaking down of isolation, reduction of estrangement from peers and develop pro-social skills.

Information group work for parents/carers Parents/carers are also involved in the children's group work in a number of ways since SASS seeks to locate the benefits of group work and counselling in the main arena of a child's life. Parents/carers are invited to a preliminary information session where SASS explains the work of the group and discuss ways primary caregivers can be involved and assist their child. This includes supporting the child with a weekly "Quest". For the final session of the group, parents/carers are invited to celebrate the conclusion of the group and the children have the opportunity to share the outcomes of the group with the adults, in a non-threatening way.

The program trial involves three weekly sessions of group work for parents, carers and others having a significant care-taking role for children who have been sexually abused. The group will be run on two successive occasions and is taking a cognitive approach. Several models will be explored for understanding the child's experience and needs, and for promoting wellbeing in the parents/carers. A therapeutic group program is anticipated for the future.
Promising practice examples Kids Quest is building on the ideas and findings of previous work in this area. Consultation with others working in this area has been invaluable, and strategies have been developed to fit the local situation.

Promising practice elements include:
  • development of group work modules that respect and address the needs of children based on characteristics such as sex, age, culture, degree of traumatisation, whether the perpetrator was male or female;
  • recognition of the confidentiality of a child's experience - in group work, parents/carers are discouraged from disclosing non-essential, personal information about their child;
  • the use of a variety of therapeutic modalities rather than reliance on one;
  • challenging the stigma of sexual abuse and normalising responses to it;
  • taking a no-blame approach with children and carers, and recognising survival strategies as skills and strengths not weaknesses;
  • an evaluation strategy that is quantitative and qualitative, that uses formal and informal mechanisms, and that examines many aspects of the program: results of evaluation will be used dynamically to inform the refinement and further development of the program and, hopefully, can inform the wider debate regarding group work and other therapeutic interventions in the field of child sexual abuse.
Based on existing program N/A
Philosophical framework The Kids Quest program is taking a consciously constructionist/narrative approach, and is incorporating other modalities when appropriate. For example, the program incorporates interventions from Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy where behaviour-change is a key objective; Attachment Therapy where disrupted primary attachment is a central issue for the child; and Solution-Oriented Therapy for problem-solving interventions.

Narrative therapy is regarded by SASS as a valuable standpoint in this work. Constructionist philosophy understands that, for human beings, making sense of experiences of the world is mediated through language (cognition). It is by "telling the story" of an event that people come to make meaning of it. How we tell the story reflects and informs our emotional response. Cognitive and emotional narratives are central to how an individual perceives their world and their place in it.

Changing a negative narrative to a positive narrative may enhance all aspects of self-image. For children especially, story-telling is a key learning mechanism and SASS is seeking to use vehicles for therapy that are already familiar to children. The Kids Quest program is composed of two parts - therapeutic group work for children, and information group work for parents/carers.
Research informing program The Sexual Assault Support Service has provided its Children's Counselling Service for three years. The experience and understanding gained during this time has been invaluable in directing the group work program. A literature search of group programs has been conducted for the pilot stage of the project. A more extensive review of practice and experience in Australia and elsewhere will be carried out in the development phase.
Research on the outcomes for children who do not access counselling/group work interventions indicates that ongoing developmental, behavioural and emotional problems are common. The effects on relationship and parenting skills when children become adult means that the repercussions of child sexual abuse may become inter-generational.
Publications N/A
Evaluation For the final session of the group, parents/carers are invited to celebrate the conclusion of the group and the children have the opportunity to share the outcomes of the group with the adults, in a non-threatening way.
Funding Department of Health and Human Services, Tasmania

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