|
|
Peter Ellis web site -
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sexually abused women are taking
longer to recover from their ordeal because of the high cost of counselling
and restricted access to therapy subsidised by Accident Compensation
Corporation, research has found. Some also reported they felt
pressured to finish ACC-funded therapy before they were ready. Dr McGregor, of the school of
population health, surveyed 191 women in 2001 about their experiences of
one-to-one therapy. They had experienced abuse ranging from fondling to
intercourse. Most of the women (86 per cent) found
therapy helpful but many found it difficult to get the help they needed.
Obstacles included cost, restricted therapy hours funded by ACC and
inadequately trained health professionals. Only 29 per cent said ACC funded
enough hours of therapy. Dr McGregor said many were
grateful for ACC subsidising part of the cost of therapy, which they could
not have otherwise afforded, but were disappointed by the limited number of
sessions. Half those surveyed had had 50
hours or fewer of ACC-funded therapy and only 30 per cent had 100 sessions or
more. "Women were saying it wasn't enough and they wanted more." More than half said cost had
stopped them from having therapy they wanted. They had paid an average $1939
each for therapy, with one woman paying $17,500. Dr McGregor saidit took years to
recover from abuse, which it took an average of 16 years to expose. One third of the women took from
21 to 56 years to speak out and fewer than 4 per cent had told anyone
immediately. "They felt shamed," Dr
McGregor said. "Those feelings of being dirty and disgusting take a long
time to undo." The women were now aged from their
20s to their 70s. On average, the abuse began when they were 6 years old and
ended when they were 13. ACC spokesman Fraser Folster said
the corporation had made changes to its Sensitive Claims Unit processes in
2002 to better reflect rehabilitation. In general, it took two to four
counselling sessions to gather relevant information to determine whether a
person had cover for a sensitive claim. If the person needed further
counselling, 10 sessions would be approved, followed by another 20 hours if
needed, and so on. "Counselling is not limited
where the clinical indicators are for ongoing help," he said. Mr Folster said decisions to fund
more counselling hours were based on progress against the counsellor's and
claimant's pre-set goals, and subject to a second opinion by an ACC
contracted peer reviewer. ACC had also decided to update
earlier therapy guideline and had commissioned The researchers would study how to
get the best outcomes of therapy for claimants, and consult established
providers, he said. |
