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Objective: To examen the short‐term and long‐term responses of sexual assault victims who attended a sexual assault centre. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were held with twelve victims of sexual assault who received help from a sexual assault centre. Analyses were done in Atlas.ti. via a process of open, axial and selective coding. Results: Shortly after assault, the victims' response was to strike a balance between denial and acknowledgement that the violence was real and not their fault. In the ling term most victims experienced a dynamic recovery process with fluctuating responses. Their social support network played a crucial role in reaching out for professional care. Conclusion: Shortly after assault sexual violence victims need the violence to be acknowledged by skilful, empathic care providers. In the long term, victims experience vitims experience a dynamic recovery process with fluctuating responses in which continuity of care is of the utmost importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: Patients’ dependency on the therapist or treatment has received little empirical attention. To examine care dependency, we aimed to develop a theory‐driven questionnaire based on three hypothetical dimensions (passive–submissive dependency; active‐emotional dependency; and lack of perceived alternatives) and to provide a preliminary exploration of several correlates of care dependency. Method: Care dependency, perceived social support, therapeutic alliance, remoralization, and symptom severity were measured in a large cross‐sectional sample of 742 outpatients with various psychiatric disorders. Test–retest reliability was established in a smaller patient sample. Results: Findings indicated a reliable questionnaire measuring three unidimensional subscales of care dependency (i.e., submissive dependency, need for contact, and lack of perceived alternatives; α’s .74, .81, and .86 respectively; rt1,t2’s .78, .76, and .80, respectively). These subscales were all positively correlated with each other and with patients’ self‐proclaimed care dependency, but divergent from patients’ trait dependency and symptoms of a dependent personality disorder. Moreover, higher levels of care dependency were correlated with lower levels of remoralization and more symptoms severity, and with a better therapeutic alliance. Conclusions: A reliable and valid questionnaire was developed to measure patients’ care dependency. Future studies are needed to determine whether care dependency covers an unwanted side‐effect or a crucial ingredient of an effective treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Treatment Support Measure (TSM) Parent and Youth were created to help clinicians with actionable feedback when youths are not making sufficient progress in treatment. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Dutch TSM Parent and TSM Youth. Parents ( n = 172) and youth ( n = 122) were recruited at 2 outpatient mental health care institutions. Children of participating parents (50.6% boys) had a mean age of 11.9 years ( SD = 3.46; range 4-18). Participating youth (30.3% boys) had a mean age of 15.68 years ( SD = 1.75; range 12-18). Participants were asked to complete the TSM and questionnaires measuring related constructs once during treatment. Responses to the TSM Parent items were explained by 9 instead of 5 subscales, and responses to the TSM Youth items were explained by 8 instead of 4 subscales. The internal consistency reliability of both the TSM Parent and the TSM Youth scales was generally good. The convergent validity of the TSM Parent and the TSM Youth was also good, although the divergent validity was less convincing. The criterion validity was inconclusive; the TSM Parent was not able to differentiate between problematic and nonproblematic treatments, but multiple scales of the TSM Youth were able to differentiate between these groups. The TSM Parent and TSM Youth have potential to be helpful tools in clinical practice. They could signal potential barriers to youth progress and direct the conversation between the clinician and youth and parents about adaptation of treatment. Key practitioner message This is the first study to investigate the psychometric properties of the Treatment Support Measure (TSM) Parent and Youth versions, which are created to help clinicians with actionable feedback when youths are not making sufficient progress in treatment., The Dutch TSM Parent and TSM Youth have moderate to good psychometric properties., The Dutch TSM Parent and TSM Youth might be helpful tools for use in clinical practice: they contain variables that are related to youth outcome, can signal potential barriers to youth progress, and can direct the conversation between the clinician and the youth and parents about adaptation of treatment., The Dutch TSM Parent and TSM Youth could be added to the regular ROM to facilitate both routine monitoring of outcome and direct and concrete aid to the here-and-now relational processes in treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]