Treating an adolescent male who has engaged in intrafamilial harmful sexual behaviour: a case study

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper provides rich detail and insight into therapeutic practice with a young person in treatment for harmful sexual behaviour (HSB). Using a single case-study design, the paper illustrates an application of the core treatment components of existing best-practice HSB frameworks when working within the context of intra-familial sexual abuse between children. The paper describes a short-term treatment comprising 10 individual sessions with a young adolescent male who engaged in intra-familial sexual abuse and attended for therapy in a private practice. Intervention targeted the HSB, healthy sexual development, and emotion regulation and included parental involvement, with observable and measurable positive outcomes. The paper emphasises the importance of adopting a holistic approach to treatment. Treatment delivery, outcomes and directions for future research are discussed in the context of the extant literature. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENTUsing a single case-study design, this paper provides detail about intervention sessions that would otherwise be difficult to achieve in a larger scale study. The focus on the intricacies of intervention enhances the utility of this paper for researchers and practitioners in the field.