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ABSTRACT
Despite the alarming increase in incidences of child sexual abuse (CSA) in India, intervention research remains preliminary and generic. Although Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has been found to be consistently effective in addressing the adverse consequences of CSA, none of the cultural adaptations of CBT have been evidenced in India so far. Hence, the present study was conceived to develop a CSA-focused brief CBT intervention for children between 7 and 13 years of age. Intervention development progressed through four steps: 1) a systematic review of literature; 2) a qualitative study, including focused group discussions, conducted with 19 mental health professionals; 3) development of the intervention; 4) expert evaluation and finalization. We developed the intervention with three key elements: restoring the child’s functioning, assisting the child in processing, and managing trauma effectively and initiating the process of growth. The intervention predominantly followed the CBT framework while integrating culturally specified techniques. The intervention contains 8 modules and 18 sub-modules structured around three phases of intervention. The intervention is spread across a minimum of 6 required sessions and a maximum of 12 session held twice weekly for approximately 90–120 min duration. A list of 35 activities corresponding to each phase and sub-module of the present intervention has been designed as an intervention workbook. In conclusion, the newly developed intervention is a manualised, culturally competent, psychological intervention developed within the CBT framework for children aged 7–13 years with experience of CSA. The next phases include piloting intervention for feasibility.
Acknowledgments
No external funding or grant was received for this research. However, the work was a part of the doctoral research of the first author for which she received a fellowship from the institute, i.e., All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi. We duly acknowledge the financial support from AIIMS.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Ethical standards and informed consent
All procedures followed in the study were in accordance with the institute’s ethical standards of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. The intervention was also registered with the Clinical Trial Registry of India under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Government of India. The study followed all the guidelines of the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all research participants included in the study.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Vandana Choudhary
Vandana Choudhary, Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; Sujata Satapathy, Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; Rajesh Sagar, Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. Author Vandana Choudhary is now working at her organization, Swayam Psychotherapy Center, New Delhi, India. The study is part of the doctoral work of Vandana Choudhary and was supported by an institute fellowship provided by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Vandana Choudhary, MSc, M.Phil., PhD is a Clinical Psychologist currently running her organization, Swayam Psychotherapy Center in New Delhi, India.
Sujata Satapathy
Sujata Satapathy, MA, M.Phil., PhD, is a Professor in Clinical Psychology, at the Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
Rajesh Sagar
Rajesh Sagar, MD, FAMS, FIMSA, FRCP (Edin.) is a Professor at the Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.