EPT5-Session2 – Sexual Abuse – Center for Experiential Play Therapy

Welcome to your EPT5-Session2 - Sexual Abuse

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In trauma assessment, a medical examination should be a prerequisite in evaluating physiological reactivity.

True

False

When completing a child sexual abuse assessment:

It’s better not to talk to the suspected perpetrator if he is the biological father.

The suspect is usually a stranger who uses drugs.

The evaluator must treat all parties with equal respect during the assessment period.

It’s best to schedule the child as a client following the assessment to keep continuity.

An assessment inventory that would be helpful in measuring the parent’s perspective of how the child is functioning with the trauma is:

Young Child Sexual Abuse Inventory

Parental Assessment of Children’s Sexual Behavior

The Sexual Violence in the Family Appraisal

The Young Children’s Trauma Symptom Checklist.

Three areas that are pertinent in sexual abuse hearings are:

Truthfulness, sexualized behaviors, and emotional distress

Truthfulness, suggestibility, and research

Sexualized behaviors, verbal disclosure, and physical evidence

Emotional distress, eye witness, and suggestibility

You have sworn to tell the truth, but certain evidence goes against your preferred case. You should:

Hedge and avoid giving a direct answer.

Rationalize the damaging facts.

Argue with the attorney.

Be forthright about the evidence.

Most children need to have all the DSM symptoms of trauma when they meet the criteria for PTSD:

True

False

On several occasions a boy in EPT places a small broom handle between his legs and shoots the therapist from that position. The EPT would view the behavior as:

This is just a silly behavior and the therapist should laugh at that behavior.

This behavior is a sexualized behavior indicating a metaphorical expression that a phallic symbol was used to violate this child.

No interpretation can be made from this behavior because children in play therapy do this behavior all the time.

This child has an obsession with wanting a larger penis to enhance his masculinity.

A child who has been traumatized will most likely have a theme of death, dying, or dead in their play during the early stages of their play therapy.

True

False

In assessing sexual abuse in a child, sexualized behaviors or expressions are one of the key factors after the criteria for PTSD is met.

True

False

A sexual abuse assessment should include information from what primary sources:

School, grandparents, and clinician’s opinion.

Mother, father, and clinician’s data.

Objective data, subjective data, and parent opinions.

Parental input, objective assessments, and clinician’s assessment.

One purpose of the sexual abuse assessment is to observe and assess patterns of behavior that indicate distress in the child that could have a sexual violation theme.

True

False

All children who are brought in for a sexual abuse assessment are sexually abused.

True

False

According to EPT style of sexual abuse assessment, which behaviors would be considered more significant in supporting the possibility of confirming sexual abuse?

Child inserting objects in an ambulance, obsession with suckers, and liking baths.

A child asking his teacher to suck his penis, talks nasty to girls, and saying “Fuck,” several time a day.

Child telling his teacher that his uncle sprayed his face with his penis hose, his bottom hurts when he visits his grandmother, and he wished he were dead.

B and C above.

A parent tells the evaluator that her daughter always wants to stick a magic wand in her dog’s anus. She wants to know what that could mean. The evaluator should immediately say that this is a primary characteristic of sexual abuse.

True

False

Children under the age of 18 months will have no ill effects from sexual abuse because they will never remember the event since they have no language.

True

False

Free symbolic play is a modality well suited to the expression of the trauma of sexual abuse.

True

False

A child’s play therapist is not an evaluator of whether the child has been sexually abused.

True

False

The roles of expert witness and therapist differ in the following ways:

The expert witness is objective. The therapist is supportive.

The expert witness scrutinizes information. The therapist accepts the child’s perspective.

The expert witness uses information to help the court. The therapist works to help the client.

All the above.

In a case where you are certain the child has been sexually abused, it is up to you to convince the judge (jury).

True

False

If you disagree with an assumption an attorney has made, it’s permissible to tell the attorney so.

True

False

Time's up