Denial and Discovery

About the Book

Denial and Discovery presents ten case histories that take readers through the closed doors of the psychosexual assessment office to an intimate view of the dramas that unfold there - not only for clients and their families but for the evaluators themselves.

Each case history is a journey of discovery. The early adamant denials of sexual misconduct help set the scene. The story then unfolds as the authors identify and marshall strategies to determine the facts.

One of the distinctive qualities of the book is its reflection of the unique team approach taken by the evaluators.

About the Author

Keith E. Anderson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, having earned a Master's degree in Social Work from Boston University in 1986. For more than 21 years (5 Years as a Licensed Social Worker and 16 years as a LCSW), he has worked with youth and families in the Portland, Maine area, holding positions as Treatment Supervisor, Program Manger, Team Leader, and Director of Out patient Services for Sweetser, a community mental health center in Saco, Maine. He is now part owner and partner in Anderson, Smith, & Associates, P.A., a private practice providing safety and risk assessments of children, adolescents, and adults.

Anderson is a member of the National Association of Social Workers (since 1980), which promotes the professionalizing of social work through community education and political advocacy and acts as a resource guide for its members. He has served on the Maine Board of Directors of the association as Chair of Public Relations, Treasure, and Vice President.

Anderson is also a Clinical Member of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (since 1994), a national organization that promotes research and sets standards of care, and has attended several of the organization's conferences. Since 1998 he has served as a volunteer (currently Chair) on the York County Juvenile Fire Setters Intervention Collaborative. This group, consisting of firefighters, police and social service representatives from throughout the county, meets monthly to address the issue of juvenile fire setting.

VSPACE="1" HSPACE="1" ALIGN="RIGHT"> Phillip M. Smith has 12 years experience in the mental health area, working first as Child Care Counselor for homeless children and as Youth and Family Counselor, and then as Senior Youth and Family Counselor and Residential Services Supervisor for Sweetser in Saco, Maine. He has recently earned his Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, and is part owner and partner, along with Keith Anderson, of Anderson, Smith & Associates, P.A.

Smith is a member of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. He is also a volunteer member (Secretary) of the York County Juvenile Fire Setters Intervention Collaborative. In memory of Smith's brother James, he and Anderson donate one free juvenile risk assessment throughout the year, and one free membership in a juvenile fire setters support group that they will begin co-leading in the near future.

In addition to evaluations, Anderson and Smith provide group therapy sessions to abusers, and services to victims' and abusers' families. Currently, they co-lead five risk management and safety planning groups for individuals actually or allegedly involved in sexual misconduct; two for adult males, one for adult males and females, and two for juvenile males. They plan to start other groups in the future.

Anderson and Smith provide volunteer services for several community social service organizations. In addition to their work with the York County Juvenile Fire Setters Intervention Collaborative, they periodically provide training sessions in the community.

Recently, Anderson and Smith purchased a building to allow for the growth of their practice, and within the year they plan to open a group home, diagnostic in nature, for youth required to leave home for reasons of safety due to their actual or suspected sexual misconduct. Instead of having to undergo shuttling from shelter to shelter ( a 30-day limit to a stay in a single shelter is common in Maine), youth will be able to come to this typically 90 to 120-day program in which they will receive a comprehensive psychosexual assessment, permanency planning, and family clarification work. In some instances, they will likely be able to be reunite with their families directly following completion of the program.

Anderson's publications and presentations include the following:

* Panel guest on York County public television talk show, "Wiser Now," concerning the topic of juvenile fire setters, 1999.

* "Practical Strategies in Reducing Denial in Juvenile Sexual Abuse" - paper presented at the International Conference on Violence, Caracas, Venezuela, 1998.

*A Team Approach to Treating Assaultive/Aggressive Youth is Residential Treatment" (lead author, with S. Bissell and N. Cantara). AACRC Contributions to Residential treatment, pp. 25-48 (Paper presented in Nashville, TN, 1995).

* Color Me Special (with M. J. Mork and R. Weaver). Unpublished children's book on sexuality, sexual orientation , and sexual abuse, 1992. The manuscript is currently being revised and a publisher will soon be sought.

*Assessment and Residential Treatment of an Adolescent Sex Offender" (with J. C. Edelberg and B. Meek). AACRC Contributions to Residential Treatment, pp. 7-20 (Paper presented in Phoenix, AZ, 1989).

Click here to visit the authors' web site, THE FACT FINDERS