Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Counselor Attitudes of Effectiveness with Sexually Abused Men

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Community Mental Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There is a shortage of research about sexually abused men. Even less research exists about helping professionals that treat them. This study offers a window into counselors’ attitudes and beliefs of effectiveness with sexually abused men. Findings from a conjoint analysis indicate a need for more male specific sexual abuse training, more direct therapeutic experience with sexually abused men, more male counselors, and more counselors with an awareness of a personal sexual abuse history. The resulting factor ordering of counselor attitudes of effectiveness is a preliminary guide to institute training and practices for professionals who work with sexually abused men.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood-Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Counseling Association, (2005). ACA Code of Ethics. Retrieved July 31, 2008 from http://www.counseling.org/Resources/CodeofEthics/TP/HOME/CT2.aspx.

  • Chan, F., Wang, M. H., Thomas, K. R., Wong, D., Chan, C. C., Lee, G., et al. (2002). Conjoint analysis in rehabilitation counseling research. Rehabilitation Education, 16(3), 179–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandy, J. M., Blum, R. W., & Resnick, M. D. (1997). Sexually abused male adolescents: How vulnerable are they? Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 6(2), 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, A., Thurlow, K. & Woolliscroft, J. (2003). Working with childhood sexual abuse: A survey of mental health professionals. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27(2), 191–198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(02)00540-9.

  • Donaldson, S. (1985). The rape of males: A preliminary statistical look at the scope of the problem. In W. Dynes (Ed.), Encyclopedia of homosexuality. NY: Garland Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dube, S.R., Anda, R.F., Whitfield, C. L., Brown, D.W., Felitti, V. J., Dong, M., et al., (2005). Long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse by gender of victim. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 28(5), 430–438. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2005.01.015.

  • Dwight-Johnson, M., Lagomasino, I. T., Aisenberg, E. & Hay, J. (2004) Using conjoint analysis to assess depression treatment preferences among low-income Latinos. Psychiatric Services, 55(8), 934–936. http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.55.8.934.

  • Etherington, K. (1996). The counsellor as researcher: Boundary issues and critical dilemmas. British Journal of Guidance and Counseling, 24(3), 339–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finkelhor, D. (1979). Sexually victimized children. New York, NY: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finkelhor, D. (1986). A sourcebook on child sexual abuse. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fradkin, H. (2012). Joining forces: Empowering male survivors to thrive. NY: Hay House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gartner, R. B. (1999). Betrayed as boys: Psychodynamic treatment of sexually abused men. NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill, M., & Tutty, L. M. (1999). Male survivors of childhood sexual abuse: A qualitative study and issues for clinical consideration. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 7(3), 19–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hainmueller, J., Hopkins, D., & Yamamoto, Y. (2014). Causal inference in conjoint analysis: Understanding multidimensional choices via stated preference experiments. Political Analysis, 22(1), 1–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pan/mpt024.

  • Hair, J. F., Black, B., Babin, B., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2006). Multivariate data analysis (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, M. (Ed.). (1990a). The sexually abused male, volume 1: Prevalence, impact and treatment. NY: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, M. (Ed.). (1990b). The sexually abused male, volume 2: Application of treatment strategies. NY: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, H., & Nuttall, R. (1993). Clinician responses to sexual abuse allegations. Child Abuse and Neglect, 17(1), 127–143.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, K. D., Robinson, E. H., Minatrea, N., & Haynes, B. L. (1998). Coping with reactions to clients traumatized by child sexual abuse. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 20(4), 332–343.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassing, L. R., & Prieto, L. R. (2003). The rape myth and blame-based beliefs of counselors in training toward male victims of rape. Journal of Counseling & Development, 81(4), 455–461. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2003.tb00272.x.

  • Kitzrow, M. A. (2002). Survey of CACREP-accredited programs: Training counselors to provide treatment for sexual abuse. Counselor Education and Supervision, 42(2), 107–118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6978.2002.tb01803.x.

  • Knight, C. (1997). Critical roles and responsibilities of the leader in a therapy group for adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 6(1), 21–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, R., & Falstein, M. (2002). A man’s recovery from traumatic childhood abuse: The insiders. NY: Haworth Press Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lab, D. D., Feigenbaum, J. D., & De Silva, P. (2000). Mental health professionals’ attitudes and practices towards male childhood sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24(3), 391–409. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00152-0.

  • Lavis, J. N., Robertson, D., Woodside, J. M., McLeod, C. B. & Abelson, J. (2003). How can research organizations more effectively transfer research knowledge to decision makers? The Milbank Quarterly, 81(2), 221–248. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.t01-1-00052.

  • Lew, M. (2000). Leaping upon the mountains: Men proclaiming victory over sexual child abuse. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendel, M. P. (1994). The male survivor: The impact of sexual abuse. CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Najman, J. M., Dunne, M. P., Purdie, D. M., Boyle, F. M., & Coxeter, P. D. (2005). Sexual abuse in childhood and sexual dysfunction in adulthood: An Australian population-based study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34(5), 517–526. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10508-005-6277-6.

  • Polusny, M. A., & Follette, V. M. (1996). Remembering childhood sexual abuse: A national survey of psychologist’s clinical practices, beliefs, and personal experiences. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 27(1), 41–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richey-Suttles, S., & Remer, R. (1997). Psychologists’ attitudes toward adult male survivors of sexual abuse. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 6(2), 43–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roesler, T. A., & Lillie, B. K. (1995). Slaying the dragon: The use of male/female co-therapists for adult survivor group therapy. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 4(2), 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schillinger, D. (2010). An introduction to effectiveness, dissemination and implementation research. UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Resource Manuals and Guides to Community-Engaged Research. Retrieved January 28, 2014 from http://accelerate.ucsf.edu/files/CE/edi_introguide.pdf.

  • Sorsoli, L., Kia-Keating, M., & Grossman, F. K. (2008). “I keep that hush-hush”: Male survivors of sexual abuse and the challenges of disclosure. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 55(3), 333–345. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.55.3.333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spiegel, J. (2003). Sexual abuse of males: The SAM model of theory and practice. New York: Brunner-Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

  • Thomas, M. C., Nelson, C. S., & Sumners, C. M. (1994). From victims to victors: Group process as the path to recovery for males molested as children. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 19(2), 102–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VanDuesen, K. M., & Way, I. (2006). Vicarious trauma an exploratory study of providing sexual abuse treatment on clinicians’ trust and intimacy. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 15(1), 69–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J070v15n01_04.

  • Violato, C., & Genius, M. (1993). Problems of research in male child sexual abuse: A review. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2(3), 33–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Leadership, Guidance and Counselor Education Program, University of Wisconsin-Superior, Swenson 2060, Superior, WI, 54880, USA

    John Paul

  2. Mt. San Jacinto Children’s Mental Health, 950 N Ramona Blvd, Suite 2, San Jacinto, CA, 92582, USA

    William Paul

Authors
  1. John Paul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. William Paul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Paul.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Paul, J., Paul, W. Counselor Attitudes of Effectiveness with Sexually Abused Men. Community Ment Health J 52, 1057–1063 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9838-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9838-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation