The Resolutions Approach: Working with Denial in Child Protection Cases

This paper introduces a therapeutic approach, the Resolutions Approach (RA), that is a way of working with child protection cases where a child has been injured or where there is a risk of sexual abuse and where parental denial is an issue. The RA is a hybrid approach, using a systemic perspective in work that has a collaborative and solution-focused methodology. Commencing with a description of the RA, we place the approach in a practical context by way of a case study. We include participating parents' evaluation of the RA as well as the those individuals who referred cases to the program; finally, we discuss some of the difficulties, rewards, and differences associated with using the RA in practice.