Development of a Brief Psychological Trauma Intervention for Child Sexual Abuse in India

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.