Counselling Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, third edition

 Counselling Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, third edition
 Christiane Sanderson
 Jessica Kingsley Publishers
 ISBN: 1843103354,
 £25





The publication of this edition should be welcomed, writes Richard Curen. My own career in the sexual abuse field coincided with the publication of the previous edition and it was handed to me as an indispensable guide for anyone who was working (especially those providing psychotherapy or counselling) with survivors of child abuse. So it was with great interest that I read this new edition.

It has been totally updated and revised, with a different structure of chapter titles that are both clear and informative. Sanderson has really thought hard about how to build on the earlier edition.

Sections on memory, shame and self-harm are illustrated with concise case studies and examples that help to illuminate her theories in a clear and accessible manner.

For example, the section on dissociation contains a description of the phenomenon and then focuses on the aims of therapy.

I was disappointed to see that there is still no attention paid to the specific needs of people with learning difficulties who were sexually abused in childhood.

Richard Curen is director of Respond, a national charity working with people with learning difficulties who are the victims or perpetrators of abuse