A FOCUSED CASEWORK APPROACH TO THE TREATMENT OF CHILD ABUSE: A CONTROLLED COMPARISON

Abstract
– Two contrasting therapies for the treatment of child abuse were compared in a randomised design: a focused casework approach to the whole family and a structured play therapy approach to the child. The Patterson coding system was used as an outcome measure. There was a high drop‐out rate from both the therapies, but of those who completed the treatment, there was a greater improvement in the focused casework regime on some of the comparisons made.