Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers



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Front Page

 

President's Column

Connie's Goodbye

Clinicians' Corner

How to Influence Grant Review Committees

ATSA's Role in Public Education

Education and Training Committee Report

Book Reviews

New Members

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Newsletter

Archives

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Contact the editor or submit articles to:

 

David Prescott

Forum Editor

P.O. Box 593

Shaftsbury, Vermont

05262-0593

Voice: (802) 447-1557

Email: vtprescott@

 

Deadline for Summer

2004 issue:

June 1, 2004

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Association for the

Treatment of Sexual Abusers

4900 S.W. Griffith Drive

Suite 274

Beaverton, OR 97005

Voice: 503.643.1023

Fax: 503.643.5084

E-mail: atsa@

Web:

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Connie's Goodbye

How to Influence Grant Review Committees

ATSA's Role in Public Education

 

Click here to

download a Word printable version

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Volume XVI, No. 2 • Spring 2004 [pic]

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David Prescott, L.I.C.S.W.

Forum Editor

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| |

| |Dear ATSA Colleagues, |

| |  |

| |It saddens me that my first official presidential communication to the ATSA membership entails my sharing the details about |

| |our search for a new Executive Director. As you know, Connie Isaac has been the Executive Director of ATSA for the last ten |

| |years. During her tenure she has been a discerning director, who has nurtured ATSA's development and provided wise guidance |

| |for every aspect of our functioning. She hired, trained, and managed our staff, judiciously assured our financial solvency, |

| |and graciously met the needs of our membership. She communicated continually with our Executive Board, keeping us abreast of|

| |developments and helping us to focus on the issues that we had to address. She developed agendas for Board meetings, kept |

| |minutes of our discussions, and provided critical history for the issues we were considering. She monitored the publication |

| |of our journal and newsletter, and created and managed our listserv and website. She also guided the creation of conferences|

| |that provided learning experiences for a wide range of participants. She worked hard to make sure that these conferences |

| |titillated our intellects, improved our clinical competence, and challenged our perspectives. That ATSA conferences are |

| |uniquely congenial, tastefully arranged with memorable moments of panache, smoothly and flawlessly organized, and |

| |accompanied with copious comestibles are all the consequences of Connie's painstaking planning. We owe her an immense debt |

| |of gratitude. We will miss her Renaissance competence and the prodigious store of institutional memory that she takes with |

| |her. |

| |  |

| |As you might imagine, the task of finding a replacement for Connie was and is quite daunting. After Connie's announcement at|

| |the October conference in St. Louis of her intention to resign, a subcommittee was immediately established to brainstorm |

| |options and to make recommendations to the Executive Board about what process should be followed in searching for a new |

| |director. After a month's deliberation and consultation with an external expert, the subcommittee reached four conclusions. |

| |First, the most optimistic timeline for the hiring process would require at least four months. This meant that if the search|

| |process started in earnest immediately, March 1 would be the absolutely earliest date we could expect a new director to |

| |begin. A more likely start date would be April or May 1, considerably after Connie had left. Second, the search process |

| |would require someone to invest approximately 300 hours of work seeking, screening, and checking candidates over the next |

| |three months. In Hiring the Chief Executive Sheila Alpert recommended that the outgoing "executive should not be perceived |

| |as being directly involved in the selection process. Such involvement inhibits candidates, confuses staff, distracts the |

| |board, and tends to keep the organization focused on the present, with echoes of the past." Consequently, the time |

| |commitment for the search process could not come from Connie. It would have to come from the Board's Search Committee. Even |

| |if this time were distributed among a small group of dedicated volunteers, it was unlikely that they could sufficiently |

| |reduce their current responsibilities so that they could guarantee a time commitment |

of this magnitude during the next three months. Third, although certain Board members had experience with academic and clinical staff searches, no one had the experience necessary to mount a competent and comprehensive national search for an Executive Director. Fourth, it was clear that we were left with the only practical course to follow--engage a search firm. The Board voted unanimously to pursue this course and approved a Search Committee comprising Grace Davis, Art Gordon, Keith Kaufman, Robin McGinnis, and myself.

 

Robin and Connie identified the most promising search firms that had experience with non-profit organizations the size of ATSA. We solicited recommendations about these firms and decided to interview four potential firms. The Search Committee conducted these interviews via teleconferences. The committee unanimously agreed to engage the services of the Association Executive Resources Group (AERG), and Gerald Hurley was appointed as our contact person from this group.

 

Fortunately for the Search Committee, a job analysis of Connie's responsibilities had been conducted a couple of year's ago at Connie's request. Using this report, the committee was able to prioritize the characteristics it considered essential for the next Executive Director. Using the committee's description, AERG began contacting its resources and placing advertisements. Over the next two months, AERG screened 70 applicants and identified five outstanding candidates. Gerald Hurley interviewed these top candidates in depth, contacted their references, and did extensive background checks on them. Detailed reports were created for each candidate, including their resumes, cover letters, a summary of the AERG interview and reference contacts, and any publications and products submitted by the candidates. These were submitted to the Search Committee on February 16, and in a teleconference on the evening of the 19th the committee agreed on the top four candidates it would interview in Portland on March 6th.

 

The members of the Executive Board were asked to generate lists of critical questions that they thought essential for the Search Committee to ask the candidates in the March 6th interviews. The questions they generated were categorized and prioritized and a detailed interview format was created. Because of our pressing time needs to get a Director on board and sufficiently comfortable with our organization in time to oversee the details of the upcoming conference, the Executive Board empowered the Search Committee to make an offer the weekend of the interviews, if and only if the committee unanimously agreed on the best choice for the position. Because a prospective Director would have to give sufficient notice to his or her current employer, it is not likely that he or she could begin the responsibilities of new position before the middle of April or May. These start-date estimates assume that lengthy negotiations about the conditions of employment would prove unnecessary. If the agreement of the Search Committee on the top candidate were not unanimous, a second subcommittee of four Board members was identified to interview the top choices in a teleconference. Using the feedback from both committees the Board would then have to resolve disagreements at our March 20th teleconference. Hopefully, the second interview will not be necessary, and we will have an announcement to make to the membership about the new director soon.

 

I look forward to the many possibilities the organization will face during the rest of my term as President. I count on your continued involvement and welcome your comments, feedback and direction.

 

I am honored to serve ATSA and its members in this capacity.

 

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Raymond Knight, Ph.D.

President

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A Whole New Ball Game? Sex Offending in Sport1 and ATSA 2003 Reflections from the Sidelines

 

I was thrilled to receive an invitation to speak at ATSA 2003, not just for the event itself, which would certainly be one of the largest audiences I had ever addressed, but because I knew it would be a way to meet many of the people whose work I have been reading for several years. Most importantly, it would be a way to take ideas and findings from research on sport out into a wider audience of treatment specialists. I was not disappointed. The conference gave me a chance to meet many interesting and attentive colleagues who gave new impetus to my own work. I did have cause to reflect, however, on some of the presentations that I heard that set me thinking. Below I offer a summary of my paper on sport and some reflections on one particular impression that I took away from the conference.

 

Sport as a site for sex offending

As professionals in the sex offending world you won't have to look too hard to see that it offers the abuser a conducive climate for sex offending. But are offences in sports characterized by exactly the same dynamics as those in any other settings or is sex offending in sports really a whole new ball game? And what is being done, and can be done, to bring sport organizations and programs into the treatment and prevention fold? It is in the history of sports that we find the answers to some of these questions.

 

Sport as we know it today is derived from mid- to late-nineteenth century industrialisation and urbanisation. It shares both the values and the ideology of the Victorian Christian church and was also used for enforcing discipline in schools and corrective institutions. Such was the success of mass sport that it came to occupy a special place in the affections of the general public. Our passion for sport acted as a political shield, however, and prevented close scrutiny by researchers and social critics. Sport was seen unequivocally as 'a good thing' and was relegated to a fantasy world that resides outside the mainstream grind of everyday life. Given this, it is not surprising that no attention was paid to child abuse or sex offending in sport until very recently.

 

One of the consequences of our national sporting obsession is our blindness to its faults. It is a world in which the 'other' is readily ignored, whether this be women, racial minorities, disabled athletes or pedophiles. In the cosy world of sports, where physical perfection and spiritual cleanliness are aspired to and expected, it is thought impossible for sexual violations to occur from within.

 

Initial denial of the possibility of sex offending in the UK sport lasted about fifteen years from the mid 1980s. Sport includes both private and public spaces and is a de facto family for many athletes (Brackenridge, 2000). Public violence on the field of play is often legitimated through the ideology of 'boys will be boys' (Brackenridge, 2001) whereas sexual violence in sport takes place within the private domain of the locker room and other spaces away from public gaze (Kirby and Greaves, 1996). Just as with marital rape, there has been a traditionally high tolerance of sexually exploitative practices, such as locker room sex talk (Curry, 1991 and 1998) and demeaning treatment of women sports journalists (Kane and Disch, 1993), women fans and 'groupies' (Robinson, 1998). The coach is afforded expert power over the athlete and often controls his or her entire lifestyle (Donnelly, 1997 and 1999; Tomlinson and Yorganci, 1997).

 

When the social problem of sexual exploitation in sport became associated with 'pedophile' abuse and child protection, government officials in the UK, Canada and Australia began to take notice. A Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU; ), now operates throughout the UK.

 

The scope of the problem

The majority of research on sex abuse outside sport has been conducted on intra-familial abuse, including physical, sexual, emotional and neglect, since this is the site of highest incidence (Fisher in Morrison et al., 1994). Relatively little research has been conducted on extra-familial abuse and even less on sexual and other types of abuse in the voluntary or not-for-profit sector, including amateur sport. Learning more about contextual and situational factors will be important for treatment regimes, since many of these currently emphasize individual and pathological parameters.

Several theoretical advances have been made in examining the question of whether sport is a distinctive location for these problems (Brackenridge, 1997a and b; Brackenridge and Kirby, 1997; Brackenridge, 2001). Given the relatively recent history of research in this area, it is not surprising that there is marked variation in approaches to the subject, both theoretical and methodological. Theoretical perspectives adopted include: feminist and pro-feminist, psychological, constructivist, sociological, medical/health and philosophical/ethical. Variation in methods and measures includes the use of quantitative surveys, tests and scales, qualitative interviews, documentary content analysis, biography and narrative analysis, and discourse analysis.

 

Data from three countries - Canada (Kirby and Greaves 1996; Kirby, Greaves and Hankivsky 2000), Norway (Fasting, Brackenridge and Sundgot-Borgen 2000) and Australia (Leahy, Pretty and Tenenbaum 2002) - are available, all of which indicate that sexual exploitation is a serious issue for sport.

 

Of the 266 respondents to the Canadian survey of high performance and recently-retired Olympic athletes, 21.8 per cent (n = 58) (Kirby and Greaves, 1996) replied that they had had sexual intercourse with persons in positions of authority in sport. Experience of forced sexual intercourse, or rape, by such persons was reported by 8.6 per cent (n = 23). These persons included team doctors, managers and physiotherapists, not just coaches. Locations for abuse and assaults were, in order of frequency, on a team trip, at a regular training session, in a private location, and in a vehicle or hotel.

 

In Norway, a survey of the top 660 female athletes, aged 15 to 39, representing 56 sport disciplines, were asked about experiences of sexual harassment and abuse, using a threshold rather than a severity measure (Fasting et al., 2000). An age matched control group from the general population was also surveyed. More than half of the participants had experienced one or more forms of sexual harassment. More of the athletes (15 per cent, n = 80) had experienced sexual harassment from authority figures in sport than controls had done from work supervisors or teachers (9 per cent, n = 46). This indicates that authority figures in sport may exhibit behavior towards athletes that is not tolerated or accepted in workplaces or educational institutions.

 

In a cross-sectional, retrospective survey of over 2,000 male and female, elite and club level athletes in Australia, (Leahy et al., 2002) 26.8 per cent (n = 99) reported having experienced sexual abuse at some point in their lives. Of these, almost half of the elite group and over a quarter of the club group indicated that this had occurred in sport. Females from both elite and club groups reported higher prevalence rates than males, with elite females reporting the highest rates of all. This study thus supports the earlier research that pointed to increased risks as performance level rises.

 

Qualitative research with survivors of abuse in sport reinforces the situational risk data from the prevalence studies (Brackenridge 1997; Cense and Brackenridge 2001; Fasting, Brackenridge and Walseth 2002). The milieu of elite sport does appear to pose particular risks for women athletes. Far fewer data about male athletes are available but there are fairly extensive journalistic and anecdotal accounts of hazing/initiation rituals in some male sports that point to increased risk, both for novice males and for female fans (or 'groupies'). This is usually associated with the consumption of large quantities of alcohol (Curry 1991; Robinson 1998; Kirby and Wintrup, 2002).

 

Canadian Sandra Kirby was one of the pioneers in sport research into sexual exploitation, conducting the first major survey on the issue, reported above (Kirby and Greaves, 1996; Kirby, Greaves and Hankivsky, 2000). She has recently (Kirby and Wintrup, 2002) explored how social models of 'hazing' and initiation practices in the military can inform an analysis of similar practices in sport teams. Hazing is of particular interest in the North American context since it has also been closely associated with campus fraternity and sorority initiations. College athletes are over-represented in police records for rape and sexual assaults (Pike Masteralexis, 1995; Benedict and Klein, 1997) and professional sports are seen by Benedict (19997, 1998) as a breeding ground for the cultural attitudes that foster acquaintance rape by athletes.

 

The contribution of sport to diagnosis and treatment

I have argued elsewhere (Brackenridge, 2002) that sex offender treatment practitioners pay for too little attention to situational and contextual factors in their analysis of offending practices and, therefore, in their subsequent interventions. I see it as imperative that we move beyond what I regard as an obsession with the determinism of seeking only pathological causes.

 

The question, then, is 'Given what is already known about static and dynamic risk factors, what can we learn by attending more closely to situational variables or contexts within which sex offending in sport occurs?' I think that there might be specificities of context in some sex offending repertoires and that investigating these contexts might just yield knowledge that will be of use in treatment work more generally. If I am right that situational factors have a greater role to play than is currently reflected in research then maybe sex offending in sport is a whole new ball game.

Summary and conclusions

Sport has long been adopted by politicians, educators and parents as a suitable vehicle for the development of healthy lifestyles, self-discipline, citizenship and personal morality. It has held a special place in the affections of western industrial societies for its supposed virtues and its potential as a tool of economic and social development. The special status of sport has also protected it from critical scrutiny and meant that social inequalities and other problems, such as sexual harassment and abuse, have all-too-often been ignored or tacitly condoned.

 

The social problem of sexual exploitation in sport has been constructed differently, at different times, by different stakeholders, with different agendas. It was brought to prominence by media coverage of a number of high profile scandals involving Olympic and other elite level coaches. Since this exposure, there has been widespread panic amongst sport professionals in several countries, and among parents of young athletes, about the need to keep sexually exploitative coaches 'out of sport' (Malkin, 1999; Malkin, Johnston and Brackenridge, 2000). Perpetrators of sexual abuse are depicted as monsters and beasts: othering or scape goating them in this way is then used to justify overlooking the social conditions which gave rise to their sexual 'deviance' in the first place. Paradoxically, illicit sexual relationships between under-age athletes and authority figures (predominantly heterosexual and perpetrated by male coaches) were known about and condoned for years before the sexually predatory paedophile became a target for vilification and a cause of moral panic.

 

Research on institutional sex offending has been much slower to develop than individual, pathological analyses. There is reason to be optimistic that sport research might eventually contribute to wider understanding of institutional abuse. But for that to happen there needs to be a concerted effort by both sport and non-sport researchers to share their work more often and more openly. Those of us researching sexual offending in sport and advocating for prevention have encountered hostility for daring to suggest that sexual transgressions might be a feature of modern sport. But the evidence base is now so overwhelming that sport administrators and public bodies have had to take action.

 

Whether or not sport is a distinctive setting for sexual abuse has yet to be demonstrated. What is clear right now, however, is that sex offending in sport has been overlooked for too long at the level of policy and prevention work and that more could and should be done to develop prevention programs. In the UK we have made a good start, requiring all state-funded sports to comply with a set of common national standards for child protection over the next five years as a condition of funding (CPSU, 2003). In the USA, with its vast diversity of sporting organizations, it is not yet clear who will take the lead in prevention work. In this land obsessed with sports at every age group, there is no coordinated strategy for sex abuse prevention. It may be time for that to change.

 

Coda

I heard the final keynote presentations about a delegation of ATSA members to the Vatican earlier in 2003. Their brief was to enrich the discussion on sex offending by Catholic priests by giving 'expert' information. I was hugely interested in hearing these presentations as I see very close parallels between the Church and sport as institutional locations for abuse. Imagine my dismay then when one speaker asked "Which parts of the brain are responsible for this behavior?" My heart sank. Why were there no social scientists on the Vatican Panel? Why were there no women? Why was no account taken by the ATSA delegation of the social, historical and cultural context of the Catholicism and of the religious discourses and ideologies that underpin sex abuse in the church - suffering, forgiveness, redemption, obedience, misogyny, salvation, submission to 'divine' authority? The reductionist assumption that pathology is the only source of the problem gives the Church the perfect escape route - allows it to show pity and offer treatment for the condition of priests without taking responsibility for priest conditioning. Herein lies the difference between a treatment community that sees itself as all-knowing (pathology is all) and one which has the humility to looks beyond its own paradigm, to embrace other explanatory possibilities and to operate in truly inter-disciplinary way.

Submitted by

Celia Brackenridge, Ph.D.

Center for Applied Childhood Studies

University of Huddersfield

Queensgate, Huddersfield, U.K.

 

Note 1: A full transcript of the paper, with a reference list, is available from the author on celia.brackenridge@btopenworld

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How to Win Friends and Influence Grant Review Committees

 

Submitted by the ATSA Research Committee

 

Attention student members: The annual ATSA Pre-doctoral research grant deadline is again approaching August 2, 2004 (go to: ). Given that this particular grant is one of those few competitions that exclude submissions from all the dauntingly prolific and internationally renowned researchers, you have to ask yourself if you'll ever have a better chance of winning funds and bolstering your CV. Writing your first grant proposal can be rather daunting (and, alas, grant writing doesn't seem to get easier). To counter this, the Research Committee reviewed recent submissions and the feedback given to student researchers in an attempt to discern some helpful hints about how to prepare a winning submission (or at least make a few friends on the committee!).

 

General Points

 

When planning your proposal, bear in mind that you must convince the reviewers that this research topic both important and original. Just because you find it interesting, do not assume the reviewers will automatically share your enthusiasm. On the contrary, it is the purpose of your proposal to sell the project. As well as making sure you are actually going to tackle the next most important question in the field, innovation in conceptualization of the issue(s)/problems or in the design of the study are good ways to score with your reviewers.

 

However, be realistic about what can be accomplished. Your project may be worthwhile but if it represents a 'program' of research rather than a single study, reviewers for the ATSA Pre-doctoral research grant may be inclined more favorably towards another proposal that is marginally less exciting but clearly achievable. Save your 'program' of research for your post-doctoral career. If your proposal is for research that will constitute your graduate degree thesis work, then remember that a good thesis is a finished thesis.

 

Before you begin writing, ask to see grant proposals/submissions (successful ones might be most informative!) prepared by your supervisor/thesis advisory committee members/peers. Look at the wording and structure so you can get an idea for how a research proposal is pitched.

 

From the earliest stages of preparation, you have to ensure that your research proposal is comprehensible to those outside your particular field; grant review committees rarely consist of members from your area of specialization; indeed, depending on the funding source, you may be fortunate to find a single member of your discipline on the committee. This is not the case with the ATSA Research Committee but it is worth bearing in mind for all your future grant submissions. Avoid overly technical language; use terms people outside your area can understand, and keep it simple. Key terms and concepts should be briefly but accurately defined. Errors of spelling, grammar, or facts are likely to make an unfavorable impression. Be clear, follow the format and sections specified, and ensure that your layout is attractive and logical. Avoid exceeding the word limits for sections or the overall page limit.

 

In drafting your proposal, get your supervisor and thesis committee members/project consultants to review the sections as you go. This is to ensure that (a) the proposal is indeed worthwhile and feasible, (b) no glaring errors, inconsistencies, or oversights are present, and (c) the reviewers believe your supervisor is committed to and will be involved in the proposed research. A submission with notable problems (whether in conceptualization, design, or presentation) suggests that the student's supervisor was not sufficiently involved in an advisory capacity at the planning and/or writing stage; the reviewers' inference from this is that the supervisor will be similarly detached from the execution of the project also. Funding in this case is unlikely. Of course, although close consultation with your advisors is recommended, the proposal must be your own work (our field is a small one in some ways and it may be quite obvious to the reviewer who actually wrote the proposal).

 

As with most grant competitions, the ATSA Pre-doctoral grant competition requires that your proposal is structured using a number of sections. These are set out in the grant form available at the website (see above) and brief instructions about what should be included in each section are given. In addition to these instructions, what follows may be useful as you choke down another caffeine laden drink, crack open another pack of candles and push on into the night with your grant proposal.

Narrative

 

Specific Aims

Your objective(s) need to be clearly stated and achievable. The idea here is to convey both the main aim of the research and to emphasis the link between this aim and the methodology to be employed. So, if the research is intended to test the hypothesis that sexual offenders differ from offenders with nonsexual crimes or other clinical groups in terms of, for example, executive functioning, the study design and measures chosen should provide a direct means of achieving this objective. Being specific and concrete about these aspects of the research is best in this section. You don't want to claim that the proposed research will examine issues or test components of a given theory if these aspirations are beyond the methodology. Nor do you want to state hypotheses that your chosen measures and statistical procedures will not adequately test.

 

Background and Significance of the Project

Familiarize yourself with ATSA's stated goals and objectives and make sure you show how your proposal relates to these.

 

Strong proposals are those that are (a) clearly located within the framework of (current) theory (or theories) and (b) informed by empirical findings in the field. In preparing this section, you want to demonstrate that you know the literature relevant to your question; failing to discuss an important piece of research sends the wrong message to your reviewers but so too will an overly inclusive literature review that seeks to cover 'everything'. Only discuss the research pertinent to your proposal. Avoid going off on tangents or elaborating at length about theories or studies that are not central to the case you are making.

 

If one were to graphically represent this section it would look like a funnel; general comments first that introduce the areas/issues that are relevant (broad at the rim) followed by an increasingly more specific focus on key elements of the literature (narrow at the spout); discuss what is accepted, what is postulated, what earlier studies have done (and done well or not so well), and what therefore needs to be done next. Make sure you tie all the streams of evidence you've introduced together so that there is a logical progression from what is known to what needs to be known.

 

Be explicit, concise, and justified (back up definitions and assertions with citations). The section should build, crescendo-like, to the punch line, where you state how your proposed research fits in. The aim is to argue convincingly that the research you are proposing is at the cutting edge, work that is likely to make a major contribution to the field. Reviewers need to be shown that what you are proposing represents the next logical step that is crucial to advance the body of research you've presented. If the reviewers conclude that what you are proposing is merely a bit of 'gardening in the field of forensic/clinical science' they will look elsewhere for the 'bright lights' project to fund.

 

One element that can strengthen your research proposal is the link that you draw between the proposed research and your own (or your supervisor's) past work. There is nothing wrong with submitting a proposal to research something slightly different from your (your supervisor's) body of work but if this proposal builds on your undergraduate/masters thesis (or recent studies by your supervisor) then make that clear because it underscores why you are the ideal team to carry out this very necessary research.

 

Relevant Experience

There are two main elements to consider in this section. The first is your own expertise and experience. It should be obvious from your proposal what skills are likely to be required in order to carry it out successfully, and reviewers need to believe that you possess these skills. If the project will involve adolescent sexual abusers as participants, reporting your training (clinical placements/internships) and knowledge (publications/presentations) with this population can improve your chances of funding. Similarly, if the project involves, for example, a qualitative methodology then briefly describing your prior experience with this methodology will strengthen your case.

 

If your background relevant to the proposal is somewhat lacking, you must allay reviewers' concerns by presenting a research team (supervisor and advisors) who have demonstrated competence in the requisite areas. Solid track records inspire confidence. This is the second element crucial to this section. Good proposals are ones that look realistically achievable. Highly competitive national and international grants are won by research teams that clearly possess the expertise required in all areas of the project (research design and statistics, specific measures, study population, etc.). So, if you and your team lack experience with the statistical techniques to be used (i.e., no one has published something using such procedures that can be cited), then add someone to the team who does have it (arguably better to do this than include costs for a statistical consultant in your budget). Specify the role and contribution (time to be spent involved/available) of each team member.

Experimental Methods and Design

If the Background and Significance section of the proposal is the compelling sales pitch, this section is the heart or engine of your proposal. Despite its importance and the fact that most of the points for the whole undertaking are to be had here, this is frequently the section that is weakest. In this section the reviewers are looking for evidence that (a) the project design is sound and directly related to the project's objectives, and (b) that the proposed data analytic techniques are appropriate.

 

Innovative designs can impress your reviewers but regardless of the sophistication involved, it is crucial that potential confounds are considered and controls incorporated. For example, if you are intending to use a non-equivalent comparison group, explain how you will address threats to the internal validity of the study, and demonstrate your awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of your design. It can be hard to take a step back from your own ideas so asking a trusted (and experienced) colleague to see if they might draw alternative interpretations from your expected findings is a must. If the likely interpretations are equivocal the proposal is substantially weakened.

 

Similarly, the chosen data-analytic technique(s) should represent current practice/state-of-the-art; look carefully at study designs in the published literature to make sure yours is consistent with the best work on your chosen question. You should describe the planned analyses in some detail so you leave the reviewer in no doubt that you know what you are doing (don't forget to formally state your hypotheses). Cursory mention of the statistics involved permits the inference that you don't quite know how to test your hypotheses or interpret your findings - inferences such as these undermine confidence in your ability to attain the project objectives.

 

Explicitly name all the measures/tests (citing the sources) you will use, and clearly specify how each relates to the research question (i.e., what is being used to measure what). If one or more of your measures are not standardized instruments, then include a copy as appendices. It is a good idea to provide a brief summary (perhaps just a couple of sentences) of the research demonstrating the measure's psychometric properties or suitability for your intended use (again, include references).

 

Another consideration in this section concerns time-frame. It is often helpful to include a timeline (graphic or otherwise) in the proposal. It will help you structure your approach to the project and it will provide reviewers with a sense of both the project's feasibility and your appreciation (or lack of appreciation!) of what will be required. Given that the ATSA award is a Pre-doctoral award, points are awarded for projects that can be completed within a year.

 

In summary here, be specific about the parameters of the project. The size and composition of your sample(s), the selection/recruitment/assignment procedures, the time-frame, who is doing what, where, and when, should all be clearly set out. If an intervention will be used, describe it clearly. Justify why these subjects/procedures have been chosen in terms of the research question, theory, and previous studies. One or more flow diagrams (e.g., one for subjects, showing recruitment from different sources and how different groups will be tested with different instruments at distinct stages of the project) can be helpful to reviewers and save you space. Read your proposal repeatedly while writing it and anticipate methodological questions that could be avoided by including a little more detail.

 

Human Subjects

The instructions for this section provided in the grant application form are quite detailed so if you follow them the preparation of this section is relatively straightforward. Your aim is to convince the reviewers that you understand the ethical issues involved in research with human subjects and have/will take the appropriate steps. For the ATSA Pre-doctoral grant, points are given for completion of the institutional review process and review ethics board (REB) approval (although some REBs refuse to review submissions requiring external funding before such funding has been secured).

 

Adequate discussion of informed consent and confidentiality are particularly important if your project involves a 'vulnerable' group (i.e., a group of individuals whom it can reasonably be expected might feel coerced to participate) such as adjudicated sex offenders or students in a course for which you are the lecturer/teaching assistant. Include the consent form(s) as appendices - writing a consent form that contains all the right elements/statements as well as sufficient detail regarding the study and participation, all at an appropriate reading level, is quite a skill. Get help from your supervisor, advisors, and even your REB. If you have not received REB approval at the time of submission (and the process can take months), inclusion of a good consent form will go a long way to convincing the reviewers that you understand the ethical issues involved.

Budget Narrative

This can be the easiest section to pick up points but you need to pay attention to detail. Be specific about items and precise about figures. A confusing, overly general or unrealistic budget will weaken your proposal (after all, the proposal is generally a big 'show me the money,' and the budget is where you show them where the money they show you will go). Exactly what is the economy airfare, car rental costs (and cost per mile), or lodgings? Be clear about the hourly rate for research assistants as well as material costs (paper, photocopying, computer and printer needs, software). Base as many of these as possible on the going rate as determined by your institution (and state this). Make sure that the items in your budget are directly related and necessary for the attainment of the project goals. For example, if you are budgeting for research assistants state why and describe what they will do.

 

The ATSA Pre-doctoral grant is not intended to cover costs for work already completed or to pay either you or your supervisor/committee members (although you could justify the cost of a consultant in certain cases). Nor is it intended to keep you stocked in pizza and cola as you work day and night (check to see if these costs are included in your tuition fees). In recent years, a number of submissions received have included items along these lines despite the fact that the ATSA-administered grants (and quite a large number of professional grants as well) are not intended for personally funding the researcher/research team themselves.

 

Literature Cited

This is your basic reference section - use the APA reference format (see either the APA Publication Manual, or the reference section of any article published in an APA journal or those published in Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, for examples). Make sure that the correct references for all citations in the body of your proposal are included here. Incomplete reference sections tarnish what might otherwise appear to be a very smartly presented proposal.

 

After The Dust Settles

 

Hopefully you'll win (make sure you do a little dance around the research lab).

 

Regardless of the outcome, the feedback you'll receive is potentially very useful for revising and then resubmitting your proposal (to the ATSA grant competitions or other funding sources - be brave). For student members of ATSA whose proposals concern adolescent sexual abusers, revision following feedback from the Pre-doctoral research grant competition (August) may ensure success in the Falconer grant competition that follows only months later (November). Don't be too discouraged if your submission is unsuccessful. Given the finite funds available ($20,000.00 for the Pre-doctoral Research Grant and $10,000.00 for the Falconer Grant), proposals that are certainly meritous may not receive funding simply because of the competition. That said, most years see the funds awarded to two or three proposals rather then just the most highly rated. Like other grant review committees, the ATSA Research Committee does consider where costs might be reduced for a project and regularly awards less than was requested in order to spread the funds as far as possible.

 

Lastly, do remember that grant reviewers are simple folk who often have to read many submissions in a short space of time - have pity on them and make sure yours is well written so they can give you the money and get back to their many other jobs.

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Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Sex Offenders But Were Afraid To Ask: ATSA's Role in Public Education

 

There I was, watching the television series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Imagine my shock when I saw a psychiatrist using regression therapy in treating sexual offenders portrayed as a "pioneer" and an "expert" in the field. This regression therapy utilized an interesting technique of encouraging the sex offender client to cuddle with his beautiful female therapist and fantasize about suckling her breasts. Of course, this portrayal served to mock the idea that sex offenders could be treated at all, which became apparent when a character in the episode stated with authority: "Sexual predators can't be changed; all you can do is lock them up...when they get out, 7 out of 10 rape again."

 

We certainly know that it is difficult to live as a sex offender in America today. But if you think it's hard being a sex offender, try being a sex offender treatment provider! How many times have you told someone what you do for a living, only to hear, "how can you work with such people?" Or, perhaps the person looks at you quizzically and doubtfully says, "Do you really believe you can help sex offenders?" Once in a while, someone will sarcastically and condescendingly offer their suggestion about mutilation therapy as the best known cure.

 

The truth is, of course, that all sex offenders are not the same, that some can be helped more successfully than others, and that appropriate treatment can indeed be effective in reducing overall sexual recidivism. As researchers and treatment providers, we recognize how dangerous sexual perpetrators are. We also realize that sexual violence requires an interdisciplinary response that combines punishment, rehabilitation, and management. We know that successful prevention of sexual violence involves working collaboratively with Corrections to restrict access to potential victims, while at the same time helping offenders to develop and enhance healthy and age-appropriate social outlets. We see the big picture: sex offender treatment is about child protection and violence prevention.

 

The problem is that most other people don't know these things. Although Megan's law has increased society's awareness of sex offenders, most states have not combined notification with the dissemination of information that can help communities enhance public safety. It is up to us to dispel the myths that fuel and perpetuate inaccurate misperceptions about sex offenders and treatment. If we don't do it, no one will. If you see inaccurate recidivism statistics reported in your local newspaper, write a letter to the editor or call the reporter to provide correct information. If you hear disparaging comments about sex offender treatment on TV, write a letter to the producers of the show. If you see a chance to participate in public awareness campaigns in your community, volunteer to do a presentation about sexual abuse prevention. Get on the list of "experts" called upon by your local news station. Have lunch with a victim advocate to let them know you are on the same team. Write to your legislator and offer to testify at congressional hearings to promote sound, evidence-based policies.

If even half of our 2,100 ATSA members took an opportunity this year to correct a public misperception, there would be over 1,000 chances to offer accurate information to the public. Public education is another way that we can facilitate our mission to make society safer.

 

Submitted by

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Jill Levenson, LCSW, Ph.D.

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Last year, with much help from ATSA members, the committee finished its draft of the membership survey report which details analysis of questions regarding members' preferences for training. This report awaits board feedback for dissemination to members.

 

While this column will not allow very much of a preview of the report, some of the key findings include that the highest training topic of interest was forensic evaluation (92%), followed by those related to strengthening practice quality, including ethical issues in research (89%), program evaluation (77%), ATSA ethics (75%), and learning how to train others (64%). The next highest ratings were for categories related to clinical practice, including developing empathy in treatment (60%), legal concerns (58%), psychiatric medications (58%), risk assessment (48%), evaluation of adult sexual abusers (48%), best practices (47%), public policy (45%), case consultation (45%), evaluation of adolescent sexual abusers (44%), and ATSA standards (40%). While the smallest proportion of respondents prioritized topics related to research, including clinical research (38%), research methodology (37%), and research literature critique (30%).

 

This report, which was used to assist in planning the 2004 conference, is coauthored by the committee members who were closely involved in the process, including Maia Christopher, Ineke Way and Sarah Jane Frankel (who designed the on-line survey and analyzed the data). The remainder of the committee, Liam Ennis (Student Member), Barbara Jones Smith & Sam Walker, was also very helpful.

 

At the 2003 conference, the committee sponsored a concurrent session on how to train others regarding sexual abuse. David Burton (committee chair), Janis Bremer and Ian Lambie were the presenters. This was well attended and received.

 

This past year we saw a few changes in the committee, due to work commitments and the need to be involved in other projects, Liam Ennis and Barbara Jones-Smith left the committee and Diana Garza-Louis will be joining us later this year when her other commitments decrease.

 

In the upcoming year the committee is hoping for executive board approval to pilot a mentorship program for the ATSA membership - this has been an engaging and exciting project, primarily developed by Sam Walker and Ineke Way. We have also submitted various presentations for the 2004 conference including a session on mentoring, and will continue to work with the membership on issue of education and training methods, resources and information...

The upcoming conference has an exciting proposed agenda - we look forward to seeing you there!

 

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David L. Burton, Ph.D.

Chair, Education and Training Committee

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Adolescent Sexual Development and Sexuality: Assessment and Interventions

 

Understanding, Assessing, and Rehabilitating: Juvenile Sexual Offenders

 

Male Victims of Same-Sex Abuse - Addressing Their Sexual Response

 

 

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Adolescent Sexual Development and Sexuality: Assessment and Interventions

by

D. A. Gaffney and C. Roye, Editors

Civic Research Institute, 2003 ()

$125.00

 

Review by

Denise Carlton, MSW

Phoenix, AZ

 

The idea for this book was born when the editors attended a conference on teen sexuality and found an overwhelming response from professionals requesting more information on teen sexuality. The list of professionals included social workers, psychologists, physicians, nurses and teachers. Clearly, there is a need for more information on this subject and, as we know, teens are often unprepared for sexual development and responsible behaviors. Sources of information for teens are (by their report) peers, the media, and teachers. Parents are at the bottom of the list. Ultimately, it is the role of the professionals and parents to help prepare and guide teens.

 

This book addresses positive, healthy sexual development and serves as a guide for helping teens develop responsible behavior. It speaks of the sexual development of teens from all spectrums including chronically ill and disabled teens who have been widely ignored. Gaffney and Roye have presented the information from the point of view of teens and included at the end a chapter of articles written by teenagers that originally appeared in SEX, ETC, a national newsletter and website written by teens and for teens. SEX, ETC. covers vital sexual issues facing all teens and is distributed to hundreds of thousands of teens across the United States.

 

The book is divided into four sections with Part I addressing The Context for Understanding Adolescent Sexuality. This section discusses sexual, cognitive and emotional development along with romantic attachments and understanding cultural influences in sexual development. Gaffney and Roye have provided valuable resources in this section that includes a guide to help communicate with teens of all cultures, a cultural self-assessment to help raise awareness of our own cultural aspects, and a list of resources for accessing cultural information.

Part 2, Reproductive Health Care for Adolescents, provides information on contraceptives and emergency contraception. This section is educational and gives useful advice on approaching communication with teens in an informed but nonjudgmental manner.

Part 3 discusses Risks and Needs Associated with Adolescent Behaviors. Gaffney and Roye discuss pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections but go beyond the traditional educational presentation to include how to talk about these issues with teens and some of the concerns teens have involving confidentiality and disclosure to partners. This section also addresses the chronically ill, physically and/or developmentally delayed, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adolescents... populations that are rarely discussed in sexual development materials.

 

Of interest to ATSA members is the chapter on nonconsensual sex. Gaffney and Roye weave together issues of concern to teens regarding cultural norms, acquaintance rape, and the contribution of drugs and alcohol to sexual assault. All are issues that are of concern to teens that need to be talked about openly and non-judgmentally.

 

The last section of the book is a collection of articles written by teens and for teens. The articles are well written and address a wide range of issues from maintaining virginity, being gay, a plea for better sex ed, how to talk to your parents about sex and how to avoid date rape. It is an interesting and informative look at how teens think and view their sexual development and more importantly the pressures and problems they have to deal with often with no information and no adults to turn to for answers.

 

The book is certainly a good addition to add to the literature. The importance of providing normative sexuality interventions in treatment of adolescents is a topic of much discussion and an important addition to treatment. I highly recommend it as a solid foundation for understanding adolescent sexuality from the point of view of the adolescents themselves. It is quite beneficial in understanding and addressing the concerns and issues that teens face while also trying to develop responsible sexual behavior. Gaffney and Roye have put together a good solid foundation that will stimulate all of us to begin building our own knowledge bases in an area that truly needs the construction.

 

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Understanding, Assessing, and Rehabilitating: Juvenile Sexual Offenders

by

Phil Rich

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003

482 pages, $45.00

 

Review by

Jennifer Kelly, Ph.D.

Merchantville, NJ

 

Understanding, Assessing, and Rehabilitating: Juvenile Sexual Offenders is a comprehensive guide to examining the critical issues relevant for those working with juveniles who sexually abuse. Dividing his work into three sections, Rich explores the assessment, treatment, and management of these youth, while continually reminding the reader of the appropriate developmental context. In Juvenile Sexual Offenders, Rich has created a highly detailed and informative resource for clinicians of all levels of experience.

 

In section one, Rich first considers the fundamental questions everyone working within the field should ask. He challenges the reader to think critically and explore the basis for the theoretical and practical assumptions made about this group of children. Also included in this section are Rich's detailed discussion of the nature of abuse and his theory-based belief about how this population should be characterized. In defining the population, Rich takes it a step further and asks the reader to truly understand it. In particular, he suggests that in most cases, the sexual act for the juvenile is merely a means to an end - and the end is to achieve a need. His supposition continues that in order to best assess and treat this group of children and adolescents, clinicians must understand each child's specific needs. Well written and accompanied by plentiful graphics, the first section of Juvenile Sexual Offenders is a clear example of Rich's main goals: assisting the reader in challenging the accepted standards and encouraging consideration that there may be more beneficial practices yet to be developed.

 

Finally, in the first section Rich thoughtfully examines the many potential pathways to the development of sexually abusive behavior. Exploring the larger social context and effectively weaving in the developmental issues relevant for juveniles, Rich defines numerous motivating factors and emphasizes the value of the many protective factors that may influence behavioral outcomes.

In section two of Juvenile Sexual Offenders, Rich examines the assessment of juveniles who sexually abuse, beginning his discussion again within the context of developmental considerations. Always reminding the reader of the fluid changes evident in the cognition, affect, and behavior of children and adolescents, Rich compares and contrasts assessments between juveniles and adults. He provides a very basic description of the assessment process and moves to a clear and concise explanation of issues relevant to test construction and recidivism. In the end, the reader should understand the underlying statistical issues that affect the assessment of risk. Also in section two is Rich's outline of the steps taken to create his assessment tool, the Juvenile Risk Assessment Tool (JRAT). The tool itself is not included.

Finally, in the Assessment section, Rich also includes one of the most comprehensive and step-by-step descriptions of how to conduct a complete evaluation for a juvenile in which issues relevant to sexually abusive behavior are central. This section will surely please the beginning practitioner as well as the experienced clinician interested in updating their report writing skills.

 

In part three of Juvenile Sexual Offenders, Rich examines issues pertinent to the treatment and rehabilitation of juveniles who sexually abuse. First, Rich reminds the reader that the forensic nature of these cases makes them inherently different than general clinical work. He emphasizes the need for clinicians, whether assessing or treating, to be skilled in the finer points of forensic practice in order to adequately provide services in this psycholegal context. Quite pointedly, Rich lays out an easy to follow structure to guide the treatment process within the larger legal backdrop. Following this introduction, the author provides an overview of general goals for treating youth with sexual behavior problems. He goes to great lengths to ensure the reader is exposed to the meaning behind such terms as multimodal, multitheoretical, multidisciplinary, and multifaceted as they relate to the design of a holistic treatment protocol for these adolescents. In this text, Rich offers many concrete examples of treatment goals with suggestions regarding the monitoring and assessing of treatment progress.

 

A particular strength of this text is the depth of material covered. For example, in the treatment and rehabilitation section, Rich includes individual chapters allocated to key treatment topics such as thinking errors and behavioral cycles, the relapse prevention plan, and victim clarification. Likewise, he also includes in this section specific chapters on the role of individual therapy, group therapy, and family therapy for adolescents with sexual behavior problems. In addition, Rich spends a fair amount of time explaining the value of an open mind for clinicians considering with which theoretical orientation to align and offers very compelling reasons to utilize a treatment approach which blends numerous clinical orientations.

 

Understanding, Assessing, and Rehabilitating: Juvenile Sexual Offenders is a superb resource for clinicians at all levels of expertise involved in the assessment, treatment, and management of youthful sexual offenders. In his text, Rich provides great detail regarding the themes and topics relevant to the issue of juveniles who sexually abuse. Most importantly, he seeks to challenge our complacency within the field and encourages critical thinking. Understanding, Assessing, and Rehabilitating: Juvenile Sexual Offenders should be considered an essential reference for those working in the field.

 

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Male Victims of Same-Sex Abuse - Addressing Their Sexual Response

by

John M. Preble and A. Nicholas Groth

Sidran Press, 2002

128 pages, $17.95

 

Review by

Ken Singer, LCSW

Lambertville, NJ

 

Nicholas Groth is a familiar name to those who know the literature on assessment and treatment of sexual abusers. John Preble is a new name to me but, according to the book's introduction, the two authors have been in the sexual abuse field for more than 40 years, working with sexual abusers and male victims and survivors.

 

Groth, who retired from sexual abuser work sometime back and has not been seen at an ATSA conference for many years, wrote the classic Men Who Rape with H. Jean Birnbaum in 1979 as well as a number of pioneering articles over the years. He apparently came out of retirement to work on this book with Preble, adding his 23 year old, 56 page long sexual victimization questionnaire to the slim (60 page) volume.

This book has something to offer clinicians who have little experience working with young (primarily adolescent) male victims. However, even experienced clinicians will likely find a few concepts to incorporate in their practice with adolescent male victims. (The authors acknowledge that the content is not geared for pre-adolescent males.)

 

The book provides a sense of "how to" without looking formulaic on what the inexperienced clinician should do. There is a 3 ½ page narrative that summarizes much of the book and will help inexperienced clinicians looking for direction or script. This represents a typical dialog the clinician might have with a young man who is in early stages of dealing with his abuse. While it might sound artificial as a script, it is useful to incorporate the concepts into a monolog a clinician might have with an adolescent who is too embarrassed or confused to reveal his experience, feelings, and thoughts.

 

As experienced clinicians, we can anticipate denial, minimization, justification and other cognitive distortions from abusers. This allows us to predict and counter, when necessary, their often typical responses. The more this occurs in our work with abusers, the more confident we become in providing treatment. In anticipating the confusion, embarrassment and sometimes ambivalent feelings male victims often experience, this kind of monolog is generally helpful in getting important concepts to reduce self-blame and guilt.

 

For clinicians less familiar in working with male victims, this book provides the framework as to why the youth experiences confusion over his sexual response in the abuse.

 

One important concept the authors note is the difference between victimization and traumatization. The former refers to the exploitation or being taken advantage of in a sexual situation, and would include the legal concept in non-consensual relationships, whereas the former would look at the impact on the victim. This is an important construct that the authors unfortunately don't spend enough time discussing.

Particularly for male victims, aspects of the sexual abuse may be very confusing and fraught with ambivalence. How the boy/young man processes the sometimes pleasurable aspects of the abuse and his relationship with the abuser can be a significant problem well into adulthood, as many clinicians who work with male survivors can attest.

 

The book also examines the nature of the sexual activity to help the victim explore what he experienced sexually. Although this is not written for the male survivor, it is a useful reminder to the clinician to advise the survivor, or significant other that males often experience involuntary physical reactions to stimulation and this needs to be put into perspective to help address guilt and shame for the response.

 

Perhaps my biggest disappointment of this mostly useful book is that the authors could have gone into more depth in each of the seven chapters. It scratches the surface but makes the reader wish for more content. The 56 pages of the questionnaire really seems like filler to expand a work that would have been a bit too long for a journal article, yet too short to be a stand alone "book".

 

I hope Sidran Press will get the authors to expand the content and dump the questionnaire in the next edition.

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The following members were approved in January 2004.

Ronissa Adams, M.Ed., L.P.C.

Fayetteville, AR

Mark D. Annas, M.S.W.

Twin Falls, ID

Charles Edward Barlow, Jr., B.A.

Compton, CA

Rex O. Blevins, M.A.

Kansas City, MO

William T. Bowden, M.S.

Matteson, IL

Stanley A. Brown, M.A., CADC III

Portland, OR

Gail Canario, M.A.

Bradenton, FL

Robert K. Carrubba, Ph.D.

Columbia, MD

Brian J. Comer, B.S.

Phoenix, AZ

Diana B. Dobier, Psy.D.

Rolling Meadows, IL

Steven Feelgood, M.Psych.

Berlin, Germany

Michael A. Figueras, B.A.

Marietta, GA

Richard Gillespie, M.Div.

Knoxville, TN

Donita K. Goodin, M.S., LPCC

Albuquerque, NM

Donna Hatch, M.S.W.

Twin Falls, ID

Cathy A. Kalahar, M.A., M.S.

Petoskey, MI

Dawn A. Lawless, MSSW - ACP

Pearland, TX

Sam Love, M.Ed.

Dublin, GA

Sandra McComas, M.A.

Indianapolis, IN

Diane Lynn Miller, M.S.

Ann Arbor, MI

Gail Narum, M.A.

Eureka, CA

Michael D. Rose, M.Ed.

Northglenn, CO

Don M. Rubinstein, Ph.D.

Ann Arbor, MI

Tina Stevens, M.A.

Hinesville, GA

Jennifer Stivers, B.A.

Madison, NJ

Daryl Temowski, M.A.

Burnaby, British Columbia

Michael S. Thompson, M.A.

Bullhead City, AZ

Robert M. Tovar, B.S.

Chicago, IL

Stephen Tupper, M.S.S.W.

Milton, WI

Jessica Viergutz, Psy.D.

Bertram, IA

Phil Willmot, M.Sc.

Notts, England

Wayne C. Witcher, Ph.D.

Lenexa, KS

James Yokley, Ph.D.

Cleveland, OH

-----------------------

Colleagues,

 

As I wrote to all of you in my October 27th letter, I did submit my resignation to the Board of Directors during the board meeting at the St. Louis conference. When I did that, six months seemed like a very long time and March 31st sounded as if it were very far in the future. In retrospect, the six month notice was a long time, but the beginning of spring, the end of March and my departure from ATSA has moved from a future plan to a present happening. The time to say goodbye has come.

 

ATSA remains a critical cornerstone in the sexual abuse field and represents the best of people helping people. I am proud of the growth of the organization in the past 10 years and I continue to have a profound belief in the value of ATSA and the leadership role of the Board. I have been blessed with a committed Board and staff and a truly compelling cause. Ingrid Ortiz and Kelly McGrath, the best support staff anyone could ask for, and the entire Executive Board have done an extraordinary job keeping ATSA strong, vibrant, and responsive to your needs. It has been an honor and a pleasure to be a part of this team and the ATSA experience.

 

In the ten years I have been Executive Director, I have collaborated with and learned from some of the best people I have ever met. These encounters have improved my life in ways both small and profound. Even with the extraordinary experiences and the phenomenal opportunities this position has afforded me, I am clear that it is time for me to take on a different challenge. Although I am not quite sure what new adventures I will undertake, I know I will continue to put to use the lessons learned in my all-to-brief but seemingly endless time as ATSA's Executive Director.

 

At the risk of ending on a schmaltzy note, I'd like to share one of my favorite Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes:

"To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded."

 

I wish all of you many many successes.

 

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