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ForwardOrganized Abuse: An Overview of Research and Treatment Principles
Abstract:
This presentation will consist of three linked presentations which explore contemporary issues in organized abuse and its treatment. The presenters will discuss current research about organized abuse, and provide an overview of the various treatment approaches for clients who present with a history of organized and extreme abuse. Such clients are almost invariably highly dissociative and the presentation will explore how to work with such dissociative presentations. At the end of each presentation there will be time for questions, with all three presenters available to offer answers and suggestions.
Michael Salter summarize the available research on the prevalence of organised abuse, common organised abuse scenarios, and the disclosures of organised abuse survivors. He will provide an overview of current policy approaches to organised abuse in Australia, where a lack of coordinated action on child sexual exploitation decreases the likelihood of intervention for child victims and complicates the treatment of adult survivors. There will be time for questions before transitioning to the next speaker.
Kate McMaugh will describe some of the general principles of the treatment of severe dissociative disorders, and how they apply to the treatment of people who report organised and extreme abuse, which can be ritualised, involve multiple perpetrators, and involves organised and semi-organised groups. She will discuss some of the common dilemmas and crises therapists face when working with these clients, while emphasising the importance of self-care to avoid vicarious trauma. There will be time for questions before transitioning to the final speaker.
Warwick Middleton will describe the interface between intergenerational familial abuse and organised abuse. He will use case vignettes to illustrate how and why such extreme ongoing abuse has been largely hidden in our society, and why the nature of such abusers makes it inevitable that such abuse almost invariably incorporates an organised element. Treatment principles and approaches will be outlined. There will be a final time for questions before concluding the webinar.
Michael Salter summarize the available research on the prevalence of organised abuse, common organised abuse scenarios, and the disclosures of organised abuse survivors. He will provide an overview of current policy approaches to organised abuse in Australia, where a lack of coordinated action on child sexual exploitation decreases the likelihood of intervention for child victims and complicates the treatment of adult survivors. There will be time for questions before transitioning to the next speaker.
Kate McMaugh will describe some of the general principles of the treatment of severe dissociative disorders, and how they apply to the treatment of people who report organised and extreme abuse, which can be ritualised, involve multiple perpetrators, and involves organised and semi-organised groups. She will discuss some of the common dilemmas and crises therapists face when working with these clients, while emphasising the importance of self-care to avoid vicarious trauma. There will be time for questions before transitioning to the final speaker.
Warwick Middleton will describe the interface between intergenerational familial abuse and organised abuse. He will use case vignettes to illustrate how and why such extreme ongoing abuse has been largely hidden in our society, and why the nature of such abusers makes it inevitable that such abuse almost invariably incorporates an organised element. Treatment principles and approaches will be outlined. There will be a final time for questions before concluding the webinar.
This presentation was originally presented as a live webinar on October 26, 2023.
Target Audience
Beginning/Introductory
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of the presentation participants will be able to:
- Describe the phenomena of organised and extreme abuse
- Analyse current gaps in policy and practice that complicate the detection of organised and extreme abuse
- Recognise some of the clinical phenomena associated with people who have experienced organised and extreme abuse
- Discuss how the treatment of people with organised and extreme abuse relates to treatment of severe dissociation, such as DID
- Address the problem of revictimization of adult organised abuse clients
Presenter: Michael Salter, BA (Hons 1), PhD
Presenter Bio: Dr Michael Salter is a Scientia Fellow and Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of New South Wales. He is an internationally recognised expert in the study of child sexual exploitati
on and complex trauma. His published work includes the books Organised Sexual Abuse (2013, Routledge) and Crime, Justice and Social Media (2017, Routledge) and over fifty papers in international journals and edited collections. His research addresses the policy implications of child sexual exploitation across multiple sectors, including mental health, law enforcement and internet regulation. Dr Salter is the President-Elect of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) where he has served on the Board of Directors since 2018. Dr Salter regularly provides training to mental health professionals on child sexual exploitation. He sits on the editorial boards of the journals Child Abuse Review and the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation. Dr Salter is a member of a number of national and international advisory groups, including: the Research Working Group of the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, the Expert Advisory Group of the eSafety Commissioner, the Advisory Group of White Ribbon Australia, and the Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Advisory Group of Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. He is the academic member appointed by the Australian government to the National Plan Advisory Group to inform the development and implementation of the National Plan To Prevent Violence Against Women and Their Children. Dr Salter is a key advisor to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection where he has undertaken a range of projects on strategic responses to child sexual exploitation
Presenter: Kate McMaugh, BA (Hons - Psych), PG Dip Health Prom, Masters Health Sci, PG Cert Prof Psych
Presenter Bio: Kate is a registered psychologist with a clinical focus on pregnancy and birth trauma, complex trauma and dissociative disorders; working with emerging adults and adults with neurodiverse presentations; and counselling clients with intellectual disability and communication impairment. She provides assessment, diagnosis and treatment to clients with complex trauma and dissociative disorders, as well as training and case consultation to other health professionals. Kate writes and presents on treatment and associated issues relating to trauma and dissociation. She has published articles on the history of the false memory movement, trauma and disability, DID, and childbirth trauma. Kate has recently completed research into therapists’ experiences of working with clients who have experienced incestuous abuse which has continued into adulthood. Kate is a Fellow of ISSTD and has been actively involved in the Society for some years, including serving on the Communications and Marketing Committee, the Public Health Committee and the Australia-New Zealand Conference Committee. Kate is the Editor of ISSTD News; current Chair of the Australia-New Zealand Regional Online Community; and Secretary of the Transitional Aged Adults Special Interest Group. In addition to her clinical work, Kate has a consultancy business offering research, evaluation, report writing and editing services to a diverse range of individuals and organisations.
Presenter: Warwick Middleton, MB BS, FRANZCP, MD
Presenter Bio: Warwick Middleton MB BS, FRANZCP, MD., holds appointments as Professor, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, and as Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health, La Trobe University, School of Behavioral, Cognitive & Social Sciences, University of New England, and Department of Psychology, University of. He has made substantial and ongoing contributions to the bereavement and trauma literatures and was with Dr Jeremy Butler author of the first published series in the Australian scientific literature detailing the abuse histories and clinical phenomenology of patients fulfilling diagnostic criteria for Dissociative Identity Disorder. He chairs The Cannan Institute as well as its research and conference organizing committees. In 1996 he was the principal architect in establishing Australia’s first dedicated unit treating dissociative disorders (the Trauma and Dissociation Unit, Belmont Hospital – Healthe Care) and he continues as its Director. He is the first researcher to ever do systematic research into ongoing incestuous abuse during adulthood. He is a Past President and Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) and a recipient of that Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He chaired an editorial grouping that put together a Special (double) Issue of the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation (“The Abused and the Abuser: Victim – Perpetrator Dynamics”), published in 2017 and published also in expanded and updated book-form in 2018 (Routledge). He is Co-Chair of the ISSTD Membership Committee (with Abigail Percifield), Vice Chair of the Scientific Committee and a member of the Webinar Committee. Warwick Middleton Researchgate www.warwickmiddleton.com
Available Credit
- 3.00 APAThe International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
- 3.00 ASWB ACEThe International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), #1744, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. ISSTD maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 08/20/2021 – 08/20/2024. Social workers completing this course receive 3.00 continuing education credits.
- 3.00 ISSTD Certificate ProgramThis program is eligible for 3.00 credits in the ISSTD Certificate Program.
Price
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