This study aimed to elicit perceptions and experiences of talking therapy services for CSA survivors and professionals utilizing qualitative interviews and analyzing transcripts using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Participants included 13 adult survivors and 31 professionals in statutory and voluntary services in Scotland. Main themes were benefits from and challenges of the therapeutic process. Benefits included a trusting therapeutic relationship, feeling safe to disclose, breaking isolation, enhancing self-esteem and self-worth, contextualizing the abuse, and moving toward recovery. Challenges included trauma-focused work, supportive contact, continuity and consistency of services, accessibility during acute episodes, hearing and managing disclosures, child protection issues, and availability and accessibility of services. The findings support a greater emphasis on relational models, supervision, and training.

Aims: This review summarises and evaluates evidence regarding psychotherapy/counselling services for childhood sexual abuse (CSA) from the survivors' perspective. Methods: Studies were identified from systematic literature searches of PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection. Selected studies were published in English after 1980. Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. Survivors identified a range of experiences of services. Positive experiences focused mainly on the therapeutic relationship, and the importance of awareness about issues specific to survivors. Negative experiences included taking a sexual interest in clients, dealing ineffectively with errors, being unresponsive, and prescription of heavy medications. Conclusions: There is a lack of research in this area, especially in the UK. Findings were limited due to selection bias, inconsistencies in recruitment and procedure, ill-described samples and analysis. Future research should obtain survivors' perspectives across genders, sexual orientation and ethnic background, and focus more on survivors' negative experiences.