Counseling for Young People and Families Affected by Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: A Qualitative Investigation of the Perspective of Young People, Parents, and Professionals

ABSTRACT

Despite growing awareness of the negative impact of child sexual exploitation on young people’s psychological, emotional and relational lives, little is known about how counseling can support young people and their families. The aim of this study was to explore the experience of counseling for young people and parents affected by child sexual exploitation and abuse, with a view to examining what facilitates progress, from the perspective of young people, parents and professionals. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 young people, 8 parents and 7 professionals and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings suggest that through counseling, young people experienced affective and relational improvements that were attributed to the process. Characteristics of the counseling relationship that facilitated progress included being able to talk openly in a caring, non-judgmental and unpressurized environment, as well as receiving advice, techniques or solutions within a holistic approach. Facets of service delivery were also highlighted, including the provision of confidentiality, flexibility and consistency, along with a multi-agency approach that promoted engagement. Perceived obstacles to progress included resistance at the outset and service location issues.

KEYWORDS:

• Child sexual exploitation
• CSE
• counseling
• child abuse
• therapy

Acknowledgments

The evaluation team would like to extend their utmost gratitude to the young people, parents and staff who generously shared their experiences of Time2Talk. Thanks also goes to the wider evaluation team, Sally Marriott, Kate Dalzell, and Luís Costa da Silva, as well as to three anonymous reviewers who provided helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.

Disclosure of Interest

Deborah Pietkiewicz (fourth author) and Ian Young (fifth author) lead on the implementation of Time2Talk, were interviewed as part of the qualitative evaluation of Time2Talk and contributed to the description of the service for this paper. They were not involved in the data collection nor data analysis for this manuscript.

Ethical Standards and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). Emily Stapley and Rosa Town were also partly supported by the National Institute for Health Research ARC North Thames. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Notes on contributors

Joanna Farr

Joanna Farr, BA, MSc, is a PhD. student at Birkbeck University of London, whose research focuses on the qualitative evaluation of mental health services for children and young people.

Julian Edbrooke-Childs

Julian Edbrooke-Childs, PhD., is an Associated Professor in Evidence Based Child and Adolescent Mental Health at Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London (UCL) and Deputy Director of the Evidence Based Practice Unit, UCL & Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families. His research focuses on empowering young people to actively manage their mental health and mental health care, with a particular focus on social inequalities.

Rosa Town

Rosa Town, BA, MSc, is a PhD student in the Evidence Based Practice Unit and Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London (UCL). Her research focuses on self-management of mental health amongst LGBTQ+ young people.

Deborah Pietkiewicz

Deborah Pietkiewicz, Edexcel level 5 diploma in therapeutic counseling (QCF), specializes in working with families affected by domestic violence or sexual abuse.

Ian Young

Ian Young, B.Ed. Trip Hons. Geog, TP, Youth Work Dip, Lancaster University. Dip.SW, MMU, is interested in developing and managing counseling provision for children and young people within the voluntary sector.

Emily Stapley

Emily Stapley, PhD., is a senior research fellow in the Evidence Based Practice Unit, whose research focuses on how young people and families manage their mental health and wellbeing.