Experiences of child sexual abuse may have impacts on adult mental health and must be considered by the mental health sector, according to the National Mental Health Development Unit (NMHDU) in the United Kingdom. To help address this issue, the NMHDU has developed materials and tools to better integrate an awareness of issues related to child sexual abuse into mental health services.
The online resource provides organizations with the training and information supports required to include questions about abuse in mental health assessment or screening, including both organizational training and higher education curricula. Available resources, developed with survivor support, include: details of the NMHDU initiative; background information about child sex abuse in the mental health context (e.g., prevalence information, impact and consequence of abuse); an overview of the UK Department of Health’s existing abuse and violence policy; training resources for organizations; and clinical information.
The NMHDU is a UK government agency funded by the Department of Health and National Health Service. Although the resource was developed for the UK context, Canadian users will find many of the materials relevant.
For more information, and to access the resource, visit the National Mental Health Development Unit website at www.nmhdu.org.uk.