The design of the chapters is innovative in the chronological flow of topics. Information on the first three categories includes initial treatment and long-term treatment issues. Medical, mental health, social, and legal issues are also addressed. Munchausen by proxy is discussed in terms of definition and recognition as well as psychological, medical, and legal aspects. The final chapter outlines the challenges to future research in child abuse treatment.
Contributors are a variety of experts who provide treatment to victims of child abuse.
The book is full of practical tips and perceptive insights. They discuss family resolution in terms of flexibility of the family structure in a continuum that ranges from no contact between the offender and victim to family reunification with daily contact under protective restrictions. For example, understanding offender manipulation of the family system helps the practitioner to understand how the nonoffending parent could have missed all the cues that something was wrong. The reactions of the nonoffending parent and siblings can greatly affect the outcome of a child's treatment. Sometimes these reactions are not what we might expect, as when the nonoffending parent does not believe the child or takes the side of the offender.