Cardozo law professor Marci Hamilton and guest columnist and child traumatology specialist Steven Berkowitz, M.D., describe the several ways in which Catholic bishops have prevent sex abuse victims from seeking justice for their abusers. Hamilton and Berkowitz argue that justice demands that legislators revive expired civil statutes of limitations and, going forward, eliminate the criminal and civil statutes of limitation for child sex abuse.
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Steven Berkowitz
Steven Berkowitz, M.D is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the director of the Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery, which provides evidence-based and innovative practices for traumatized youth and their families. Dr. Berkowitz has worked with many children and adults who have been sexually abused including those abused by clergy, coaches, teachers and other adults in authority.
His work and research has focused on the development and evaluation of interventions for children living with psycho-social adversity, chronic stress and trauma. He has a particular interest in early identification and intervention Dr. Berkowitz is the lead developer of a brief secondary prevention intervention, the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI). In a randomized clinical trial, it reduced PTSD in children ages 7-17 by 69% and full and partial PTSD by 73%. CFTSI has been disseminated to over 80 agencies throughout the U.S. In addition, a version of CFTSI for young children is currently being piloted. Dr. Berkowitz also is an author of the Skills for Psychological Recovery Manual (SPR) that addresses issues for survivors in the months and years following large scale disasters.
In addition, he is a developer of the Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service (IICAPS), which works with children and their families with serious psychiatric disturbance living with psychosocial diversity. IICAPS has been disseminated State-wide in Connecticut and has been implemented in Philadelphia, PA and Providence, RI. It is currently undergoing a rigorous randomized effectiveness trial. Dr. Berkowitz has published articles, chapters and books in the area of childhood trauma.
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