Efficacy of Family Counselling on the Psychosocial Wellbeing of Child Sexual Abuse Survivors in Selected Child Rights Advocacy Centres in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

This article aims to determine the efficacy of family counselling intervention on the psychosocial wellbeing of survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA) in selected Child Rights Advocacy Centres (CRACs) in Nairobi, Kenya. Although CRACs provide psychosocial support services through counselling to survivors of CSA, empirical evidence regarding the efficacy of family counselling in enhancing survivors’ psychosocial wellbeing remains limited. A descriptive survey research design was employed, and purposive sampling was used to select 172 respondents comprising 78 survivors of CSA, 78 parents or caregivers, and 16 counsellors. Data were collected using validated, researcher-developed questionnaires, with internal consistency established via Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.767. Simple linear regression analysis revealed that family counselling had a statistically significant positive effect on the psychosocial wellbeing of CSA survivors (F (1,146) = 35.179, p < .001), accounting for a meaningful proportion of the variance in recovery outcomes (β=0.440 p < .001. Overall, participants reported positive experiences with family counselling, indicating that the intervention effectively addressed the psychosocial needs of survivors. The study concludes that family counselling is an effective intervention for enhancing the psychosocial wellbeing of survivors of child sexual abuse. It is recommended that Child Rights Advocacy Centres strengthen parental engagement and participation in family-based counselling interventions to enhance recovery and psychosocial wellbeing among survivors. This study shifts the focus toward primary service users by providing empirical evidence that family counselling directly improves the psychosocial wellbeing of child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors.