Parenting After a Child Abuse Disclosure: How to Support

Disclosure is an opportunity for adults to provide support, safety and care to children and adolescents who have experienced abuse.  It creates a chance to connect to professionals who can continue the support and healing.  Children have the capacity to be extremely resilience however the response to the trauma can directly impede or enhance the impact of the trauma.  Children and young people may disclose abuse at any time, either purposeful or accidental, with delayed disclosure being quite common.  The timing of the disclosure will influence the child’s immediate needs.  Supporting the non-offending caregiver will also be covered.

Objectives:

• Identify signs of disclosure including coded, purposeful and accidental disclosure

• Describe strategies and tools to support the child or adolescent

• Develop skills to support the non-offending caregiver whether supportive or non-supportive

• Apply strategies to support the child throughout the justice system