Childhood Abuse : Effects on Clinicians' Personal and Professional Lives

The authors of this innovative volume alert readers to personal and professional biases that can interfere with objective judgement, thereby precluding appropriate evaluation, protection and treatment for children and their families.

Personal and professional biases can sometimes interfere with objective judgment, particularly in the case of child maltreatment, which often evokes powerful reactions and extreme emotions upon its discovery. Authors Helene Jackson and Ronald Nuttall identify how gender, age, discipline, individual core belief systems, and case factors can affect a personÆs perception of sexual abuse allegations, thus possibly compromising the accuracy of an investigationÆs findings. An innovative resource, Childhood Abuse alerts professionals to the existence of this bias and works toward improving efforts to recognize the victims of sexual abuse. While examining the impact of working with victims of both physical and sexual abuse on the lives of mental health professionals, this book encourages professionals to heighten their self-awareness as a part of their training. The authors present a survey designed to bring the reader "into focus" with regard to his or her own potential for bias. In addition, recommendations for more objective and effective practice, training and education, and future research make this book an important resource. Childhood Abuse is a timely volume for all health care professionals and practitioners who work with child abuse. This book will be especially valuable as a supplement in training students and interns for careers in mental health and health care fields.