The centre for the vulnerable child: a new model for the therapeutic provision for abused children and their families

In the last decade in Scotland there has been a rise in the number of known cases of children and adolescents who have experienced sexual abuse and a rise in the number of cases entering treatment after detection.1 This is putting a considerable strain on existing child and adult mental health services. As part of the response to this problem a new service was set up in Fife, the Centre for the Vulnerable Child, to provide an integrated focus for therapy, in-service training, consultancy and research into the area of sexual abuse. The Centre has strong Jinks with the local joint police and social work Child Protection Unit with which it shares premises. Early indications are that the service is dealing primarily with more severely abused children. An evaluation is underway to assess both user satisfaction and the impact of this new service on measurable health and social outcomes among sexually abused children and their families. Professionals who have referred patients and clients to the Centre are largely satisfied with its work and an instrument for seeking the views of referred children is under development.