A Comparison of Short-Term Group and Individual Therapy for Sexually Abused Women

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of 10 sessions of group therapy with that of 10 sessions of individual therapy in a sample of 86 adult women seeking treatment for the effects of childhood sexual abuse. Method: Participants were randomly assigned to the 2 treatment modalities and tested at as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of psychiatry 1999-03, Vol.44 (2), p.168-174
Main Authors: Stalker, Carol A, Fry, Richard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child Abuse, Sexual - psychology
Child Abuse, Sexual - therapy
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Health care
Humans
Medical sciences
Mental disorders
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Prospective Studies
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics - methods
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychotherapies. Psychological and clinical counseling
Psychotherapy, Brief - methods
Psychotherapy, Brief - standards
Psychotherapy, Group - methods
Psychotherapy, Group - standards
Self Concept
Sexual abuse of children
Survivors - psychology
Therapy
Time Factors
Treatment Outcome
Treatments
Women
Women - psychology
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Summary:Objective: To compare the effectiveness of 10 sessions of group therapy with that of 10 sessions of individual therapy in a sample of 86 adult women seeking treatment for the effects of childhood sexual abuse. Method: Participants were randomly assigned to the 2 treatment modalities and tested at assessment, pretherapy following a 10-week wait condition, posttherapy, and 6-month and 12-month follow-up. Results: Participants had fewer symptoms and better psychosocial functioning posttherapy and were further improved at the 6- and 12-month follow-up. Neither treatment modality was superior to the other. Approximately one-half of the sample sought further treatment during the follow-up periods. Conclusions: Improvement in symptoms and functioning was associated with short-term treatment in both modalities, but many patients remained distressed and required further treatment. Future research should investigate whether sexually abused women who meet criteria for specific diagnoses require more focused and/or longer-term therapy.
ISSN:0706-7437
1497-0015
DOI:10.1177/070674379904400208