Citation

Offermann BJ, Johnson E, Johnson-Brooks ST, Belcher HME. J. Child Adolesc. Trauma 2008; 1(3): 179.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1080/19361520802313445

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Nearly 20% of children with a history of sexual abuse develop problematic sexual behaviors (PSBs). Effective mental health treatments for this specialized population are limited. This article presents outcome data on 62 children enrolled in the preliminary trial of the Safety, Mentoring, Advocacy, Recovery, and Treatment (SMART) model. SMART integrates individual, family, and group therapy in a strengths-based, problem-focused treatment model targeting PSB. Significant improvements were found in measures of functional impairment and PSB after participating in SMART. This preliminary study supports the effectiveness of the SMART model in ameliorating the PSB symptoms of young, sexually abused children.

Keywords: problematic sexual behaviors; sexual abuse; young children; child abuse; mental health; trauma informed treatment