ACC And the 180 Degree Turn-Around

Ah, I am having an ACC morning! I made the mistake googling ACC news and this is what get my little brain going:

By law, ACC can only accept sensitive claims from those diagnosed with a mental injury resulting from the sexual abuse they’ve suffered. Other agencies are available to assist sexual abuse survivors who have not developed a diagnosed mental injury. (See here the full news item)

The government has recently come up with the brilliant idea to involve victim support for SA survivors. What a great idea. They should be applauded. Certainly the board from ACC will be pleased having found someone who'll do ACC's work for nothing.

What's wrong with that picture??? In the last 20 years (thats how long I am involved with ACC) therapists and counsellors had to proove at length that they have

experience with SA victims, 
experience counselling them (If I remember right you had to have 200 hrs supervised SA counselling experience before you were approved by ACC
sexual abuse specific training
proove that you know all the theoretical ins and outs of treatment
certainly needed to know about transference and countertransference

And NOW: DRUM ROLL PLEASE this is all irrelevant. "other agencies are available to assist SA survivors who are not mentally ill". Other agencies can only mean rape crisis, who are chronically underfunded and understaffed;  victim support, who don't have any expertise or training in the matters that used to be so vitally important to ACC until last October, or places like life line. I am sure I forgot some, but the picture would be the same.

What a bunch of hypocrits!

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Gudrun Frerichs, PhD]

You never know what the National led government comes up with. I wouldn't put anything past them. They have a great track record in dismantling the social system. They started under Jim Bolger and Jenny Shipley and seem to be determined to finish the job this time around.

[Yviesback]

Oh my gosh!!! I read the first two paragraphs and felt sick and my blood pressure rising!!! AAAAGGGGHHH!!!! Gotta go to bed - just couldn't read it.

So what Nikki Kaye told me was correct, so they have actually gone ahead and done that. So are they going to now fund victim support and pay therapists etc. If they are to fund it does that mean that survivors still have to go through psychiatric evaluations??? What Nikki Kaye told me was that it was being discussed to completely take all the ACC sexual abuse counselling away from ACC and it was all going under victim support. Thats why I ask will survivors have to go down this same clinical pathway. The only difference the would be it that it would not be under the govt would it??? So instead of having blood on their hands they're trying to wash their hands of the swamp dwellers. Isn't that really what they are doing??? Clearing the swamp completely????? Oh man now I'm so angry!!!