Agenda - 02-03-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 OCRCC has a file of over 56 local mental health clinicians who serve as referral resources for victims who are clients of the Center. These therapists go through an extensive application process to become Center referrals. As a part of that application they are asked about their experience working with victims of sexual violence. A startling 70 percent have less than 5 years of such experience. In addition local resources for training these therapists are virtually non - existent. In the past 3 years there have been no workshops or trainings in Orange County specifically for therapists on working with sexual violence victims. Yet, the literature on recovery from sexual violence states that the recovery process includes both short -term trauma (often requiring crisis intervention) and a long -term reorganization and reorientation process, often requiring long -term clinical mental health intervention. In summation, local data show over 25 percent of reported sexual violence cases of the past 5 years involved child or adolescent victims. Yet one major medical port of entry provides very little support for such victims, no support groups are available for adolescent victims, and local therapists have little experience and lack local resources for training to work with sexual violence victims, While data are not readily available to compare local resources with state and national averages, both state and national data reflect the same large proportions of child victimization Q of 4 girls and 1 of 6 -8 boys). It also is well -known both state and nationally, that mental health care in general is available and accessible to less than 25 percent of the general population. Thus the situation in Orange County is likely no different than throughout the nation.