What School Counselors Say: Training Needs for Preventing Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to understand the current needs of school counselors for preventing child sexual abuse. The need assessment study was carried out with a focus group sample. The participants were school counselors who work in various types of schools. The researcher contacted the school counselors and invited them to participate in the research. During the focus group meetings, the researcher collected the data through audio recordings and later transcribed them. Content analysis was used to generate codes, and codes were grouped into subthemes, which were used to identify themes. Focus group data were categorized according to three themes: 1) the perceptions of school counselors’ role in preventing abuse; 2) the issues that school counselors' feelings of inadequacy in preventing abuse, and 3) the recommendations for the future prevention programs. Based on the results of the study, school counselors had limited theoretical knowledge and professional competence regarding child sexual abuse. The results also revealed that some prevention programs in Turkey were available but insufficient to meet the needs of school counselors. Moreover, the researcher discussed implications for future research and practice were discussed.