Family Safety Planning with Adolescent Sexual Behaviors

Clarification is part of everyday life. However, once an adolescent violates the norm of sexual behaviors the caregivers see the incident as a crisis. With knowledge on how to work towards clarification and reunification safely, parents and practitioners are better able to address the behaviors in a clinical and home setting.

Initial understanding that treatment for sexual behaviors is on a spectrum and each situation should be evaluated individually is a layer of best practice. Once the behavior is identified steps towards clarification can begin. Safety plans are not static and should always be reviewed, especially during clarification and reunification processes. The youth is changing, the environment changes, and therefore the safety plan that involves the youth and environment should change as well. Understanding that dynamic traits of a safety plan are consistent with best practices to safely clarify and reunify.

Professionals working with the youth need to be self-aware of their own biases and values when working with youth who exhibit sexual behaviors. Best practice of monitoring own biases within professional settings allows for a professional to work with a client without interrupting services. This is especially important as with time sexual behaviors continue to grow.

Taking best practices and working with families, a healthy plan for clarification and reunification can be adapted. With or without services, the adolescent may have contact with victims, therefore making clarification and reunification a priority for community safety.

Amanda Pryor, MSW, LCSW, CSAYC is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of experience. She is a graduate of Indiana University School of Social Work. She specializes in therapeutic interventions, program development, direct services, and training for youth with sexual behavior problems and their families. She is the Director of the Advocacy and Training Alliance, LLC – Indiana’s training and credentialing organization that trains, administrates, and governs specialty credentials for professional working in the space. Amanda is also the Child and Adolescent Representative on the Board for Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse.