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Reviews
Handbook on Sensitive
Practice
for Health
Professionals - Lessons from Women Survivors of Childhood Sexual
Abuse
researched, written
and prepared by Candice Schachter, Carol Stalker and Eli
Teram. Published through the National Clearinghouse on Family
Violence.
Click here
for the Handbook
Reviewed by Pamela
Fitch
I stumbled on this resource a few years ago as I was preparing
to teach a course on massage therapeutic relationships. It
amazed me that such a fine text was available for download and it
was absolutely free! I have since recommended it to all of my
students and continue to refer to its research and perspective when
considering any delicate therapeutic relationship issues.
The project grew out of the experiences of Candice Schachter, (a
physical therapist and researcher) who volunteered at the Sexual
Assault Center in London, Ontario between 1989 and 1995. She
listened to women describe their difficulties with touch when
seeing health professionals. She discussed ways to address the
difficulties through research with Eli Teram, a qualitative
researcher and Carol Stalker, a clinician and researcher in
childhood sexual abuse at Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of
Social Work. The Sensitive Practices project was born in 1995.
The team researched and wrote the handbook in consultation with
women survivors (who participated in interviews and working
groups), and health care practitioners. The first interviews,
done in 1996, focused on physiotherapy and other health
professionals who use touch as a medium of assessment or
treatment.
Although the research was completed in 2001, it still holds
important messages for health practitioners. Safety is crucial for
survivors when seeing health professionals. The eight principles of
sensitive practice represent the cornerstones of practice
that facilitate safety: respect, rapport, sharing control with the
client, sharing information, and respecting boundaries, fostering a
mutual learning process, considering the ebbs and flows of healing
from trauma and demonstrating an understanding of the effects of
trauma. While these practices may seem to be simply common sense
when viewed as a list, survivor stories and reflections in this
handbook suggest that not all healthcare professionals fully
understand or appreciate the impact of their behavior or the
effects of violence on their clients.
A second edition of the Handbook is currently in preparation and
will be posted within the next 18-24 months. In this 2nd
edition, the research team has broadened the examination of
sensitive practice by incorporated perspectives of male survivors
and a wider range of health professionals and has expanded sections
on disclosure and triggers.
According to Schachter, the best client-centered care means
combining a good therapeutic relationship with strong clinical
skills. This goes for all clients, no matter what their
background.
Pamela Fitch, BA, RMTp.fitch@rogers.com
The Handbook of Sensitive Practice is available in French by
clicking here.
The Handbook of Sensitive Practice is published by:
Family Violence Prevention Unit Healthy Communities Division,
Centre for Healthy Human Development Health Canada Address Locator:
1909D1 9th Floor, Jeanne Mance Bldg., Tunney’s Pasture Ottawa,
Ontario K1A 1B4 CANADA
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