Extended Assessment of the Child Victim

The detailed, full disclosure needed to determine credibility cannot always be obtained in one or two interviews, even if the child is interviewed by experienced and knowledgeable investigators. Research and experience indicate that children often deny abuse in initial interviews (Bourg, et.al., 1999; Berliner, L. & Conte, J., 1993).

Disclosure as a process from tentative to active disclosure is now a recognized dynamic in child sexual abuse cases (Sorenson & Snow, 1991). Many mandated investigative agencies do not have sufficient personnel and/or time to conduct extended investigations and interviews, and therapists can be introduced into the process to provide time for progressive disclosure. If a child is not in active disclosure when first questioned about abuse, it becomes a professional's responsibility to provide a "vehicle" for moving the child forward in the process of determining if abuse has occurred. Extended assessment is such a vehicle. It provides an uninterrupted continuum of care for child victims in which time is provided to process the initial shock and denial that often accompany disclosure. In a safe place, at a safe pace, the child may become able to recall and relate frightening experiences that (s)he simply could not talk about at first try. If the child has been traumatized, the type of trauma experienced will determine how well and how soon (s)he will be able to recall and relate the experience. The extended time also allows the grief process to unfold, which when left unattended, can disrupt disclosure and result in recantation.