The professional carers' group: supporting group work for young sexual abusers

OBJECTIVE: A centralized treatment project, for young people who have sexually abused others, describes how group-based work with potentially isolated local professionals may help a treatment program to maintain a systemic perspective. METHOD: The paper reviews relevant literature and outlines the context, format and goals of a Professional Carers' Group. RESULTS: Recurring themes, observed during the 30-week treatment programs, are subjected to clinical analysis. Two key areas are discussed: (1) cognitive-emotional processing of common reactions to work with sexual abuse; and (2) inter-professional communication to balance the requirements of child protection and therapy. CONCLUSION: Concurrent work with local professional networks may promote the clinical effectiveness of a treatment program for young perpetrators of sexual abuse. A Professional Carers' Group is one relatively low-cost approach which may help to integrate the work of a central treatment facility with that of distant, community-based, agencies.