An intensive individual and family counseling program to treat families who have experienced sexual abuse and to reduce the incidence of sexual abuse in the community.
Warning signs that may indicate an individual has been sexually traumatized:
- Direct report of sexual contact
- Genital inflammation or pain in sitting or walking, or a sexually transmitted disease
- Precocious sexual behavior
- Changes in sleeping, eating or social patterns
- Setback in bladder and bowel control
- Changes in behavior
- Fearfulness or anxiety attacks
Our treatment approach to cases of child sexual abuse is based in the family systems perspective. Child sexual abuse affects the entire family; therefore, our program strongly emphasizes including all family members.
Crisis Intervention:
Intensive, home-based services are provided over a six to eight week period to:
- Assess the physical and emotional safety of the child(ren)
- Validate the sexual abuse victim for having disclosed
- Encourage a protective relationship between the non-offending parent and child victim
- Offer emotional support to siblings of the child victim
- Provide a complete psychosocial assessment of the family with treatment recommendations
Ongoing Treatment:
- Office-based therapy is provided to individuals and families for up to two years
- Continually reassess family’s nurturance and the opportunity to work through the emotional effects of child sexual abuse
- Develop and strengthen interpersonal boundaries, self-assertiveness, enhanced communication skills and clear sense of appropriate family roles
- Develop and sustain changes with the offender to lessen the risk of further abuse
As appropriate, family members receive services which may include:
- Individual counseling
- Play therapy
- Parent-child counseling
- Couples counseling
- Family counseling
- Group therapy for children, teens and non-offending parents
- Concrete services and advocacy as needed
Program referral questions should be directed to the Sexual Abuse Program at (585) 262-7100.
To make a referral for either program contact the Monroe County Department of Human Services, please call (585) 753-5821.
In order to be eligible for services, there must be an identified child(ren) at risk of foster care and/or abuse and neglect. For ongoing treatment, a Child Protective Services Management Team needs to be active with the family.
