Child sexual abuse II: treatment

Objective: To evaluate the scientific literature concerning the treatment of child sexual abuse. Method: A critical review of the scientific literature. Results: There are only nine published research studies in which subjects were randomly assigned to an index treatment or treatments and a comparison treatment or no-treatment control group. In seven of the studies, the index treatment exceeded the control or comparison group in regard to treatment outcome; in two studies it did not. The successful treatments involved group therapy, combined individual and group play therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy. Conclusions: Treatment should be based on an explicit conceptual model of the psychopathology of sexual abuse. The University of Queensland Sexual Abuse Treatment Project, which is based on a transactional model, is described.