Abstract
Providing therapy for survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) can be a complex process with many critical decisions throughout treatment; however, literature that offers suggestions on how to proceed in therapy with CSA survivors is limited. In the current study, a qualitative, phenomenological methodology was used to explore the decision-making process in the initial stages of therapy. Participants included 11 national experts who offered suggestions to help facilitate therapy with CSA, responding to client disclosures, and determining treatment modality and focus. Although some experts had divergent views on how they would handle early treatment decisions, a number of concrete suggestions, as well as justifications, to support different choices when making initial treatment decisions are provided.