The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program: Preschool Program has been rated by the CEBC in the area of: Sexual Behavior Problems in Children, Treatment of.

• Types of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
• Target Population: Children with sexual behavior problems. Boys and Girls ages 3 to 6 years of age and their caregivers.

Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program: Preschool Program is a family-oriented, cognitive-behavioral, psychoeducational, and supportive treatment group designed to reduce or eliminate incidents of sexual behavior problems:

• The program is an outpatient group treatment program for children ages 3 to 6 years and their parents or other caregivers.
• The program can be provided to individual families when group is not an option.
• The treatment is provided as a closed-ended group.
• The group is 12-14 sessions long.
• Collaboration with child protective services, school personnel, and others involved is highly recommended.

Caregivers are taught about sexual development, how to supervise the children, teach and implement rules in the home, communicate about sex education, and reduce behavior problems utilizing behavior parent training strategies. Children are taught private part rules and abuse prevention skills in the context of safety rules. Boundaries, emotional regulation, coping skills, and basic impulse control strategies are taught and practiced during and between sessions.

The goals of Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program: Preschool Program are to:

• Eliminate or reduce problematic sexual behavior
• Improved child behavior via better parental monitoring, supervision, and behavior management skills
• Improve parent-child interaction and communication
• Improve coping, self-control, and social skills

The essential components of Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program: Preschool Program are:

• Modeling, observing, and providing constructive and corrective feedback on skills
• Structured program and providers who use a directive approach
• Addressing components with Children and Caregivers
• Rules about sexual behavior
• Boundaries
• Abuse prevention skills
• Emotional regulation and coping skills
• Impulse control and problem solving skills
• Sex education
• Social skills and peer relationships
• Addressing additional components for caregivers
• Behavior parent training to prevent and respond to sexual behavior problems as well as other behavior problems
• Sexual development and child development including moral development
• Dispelling misconceptions regarding the behavior and implications to the child
• Support

Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program: Preschool Program was designed with a child component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Sexual behavior problems, general behavior problems, and internalizing symptoms

Age range: 3 – 6

Developmental Delays:

This program was not developed for children with developmental delays, and has not been tested for children with developmental delays.

Treatment Involves Family/Support Structures:

This program involves the family or other support systems in the individual's treatment: Program requires weekly parent/caretaker attendance and active participation, monitoring and supporting child application of skills between sessions, and ongoing assessment of child progress in treatment.

Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program: Preschool Program was designed with a parent/caregiver component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Parent/caregiver of a child with sexual behavior problems. Limited understanding of sexual development, sexual behavior problems, and parenting strategies that improve boundaries and reduce sexual behavior problems. Parental stress.

Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program: Preschool Program was designed to be conducted in a group setting, and has been tested for use in a group setting.

Recommended group size:

The size depends in part on the number of co-therapists available. We recommend having 5-7 children in each group.

Testing References:

Silovsky, J. F., Niec, L., Bard, D., & Hecht, D. (2007). Treatment for preschool children with sexual behavior problems: Pilot Study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36, 378-391

Recommended Intensity:

90-minute weekly session

Recommended Duration:

12-14 sessions

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Outpatient Clinic

Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program: Preschool Program includes a homework component:

Each week the child and caregiver have activities that have them apply or practice the skills/information taught.

Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program: Preschool Program does not have materials available in a language other than English.

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

• Group rooms including one room large enough to hold all the families for the parent-child group component.
• Co-therapists for each child group is recommended. One therapist could do the caretaker/parents group.
• Personnel to conduct the intake assessments.
• Supervisor/director of the program.
• Therapeutic materials, such as books, puppets, etc.
  

Supervisor and lead therapists are recommended to be licensed mental health practitioners with previous experience in treatment for children and their caregivers for children with behavior problems and children who have been maltreated.

There is a manual that describes how to implement this program, and there is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Jane F. Silovsky, PhD
  Jane-silovsky@ouhsc.edu
  phone: (405) 271-8858

Training is obtained:

Onsite or at OUHSC

Number of days/hours:

Depends in part on training and experience of staff to be trained. Typically there are 4 days of initial training, ongoing consultation (preferred live observation of program via polocom), and at least one booster training visit.

This program is rated a "3 - Promising Research Evidence" on the Scientific Rating Scale based on the published, peer-reviewed research available. The practice must have at least one study utilizing some form of control (e.g., untreated group, placebo group, matched wait list study) establishing the practice's benefit over the placebo, or found it to be comparable to or better than an appropriate comparison practice. Please see the Scientific Rating Scale for more information.

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being