Mental Health Clinicians Willingness to Treat Child Problematic Sexual Behavior
Children with problematic sexual behavior (PSB) often face barriers to care, driven in part by clinicians’ limited willingness and preparedness to treat this population. This 90‑minute session presents findings from a quantitative study examining how differentiation of self, sexual intervention self‑efficacy, sexual comfort, and sexual education/training influence clinicians’ willingness to treat child PSB. Results showed sexual comfort as the only significant predictor, explaining 22% of the variance. Additional data revealed limited clinical engagement with PSB, high rates of personal sexual trauma histories, and increased willingness among clinicians with greater exposure to PSB cases. Attendees will explore implications for training, supervision, and workforce development, and gain strategies to strengthen clinician readiness and expand access to effective, family‑centered care. A Q&A will follow