Background and Aims: The importance of the involvement of parents in treatment approaches for Children and Young People (CYP) who have engaged in Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB) has been consistently highlighted within the literature. Given that HSB arises in a family context, parents are considered key agents for change where CYP remain in their care. Professionals may work with them as a means of improving the CYP's therapeutic outcomes. Despite this, little is known about their personal lived experiences and representations of meaning, which remain largely unexplored. The current study aimed to address this gap and gain a rich understanding of the experiences of parents, from their own perspective. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were used with six biological parents who were recruited via purposive sampling from a specialist service working with CYP who have engaged in HSB and their families. During interviews, four broad areas of interest were explored: the personal psychological impact of their child engaging in HSB; the impact on the parent-child relationship; wider familial and community responses; and parental coping. Interviews were audio-recorded and their verbatim transcripts analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Findings and Conclusions: The analysis produced four main themes; 'A devastated and overwhelmed life'; 'Threatened and trying to feel safer'; 'A challenged relationship with son'; and 'Space for hope in the face of hopelessness?'. It was highlighted that parents' experiences and meaning-making appeared intimately woven with a complex web of powerful relational and socially constructed factors. The research outcomes provide valuable insights for professionals working with young people who have engaged in HSB and their families. In learning more about what it is like to be the parent of a CYP who has engaged in HSB, it is hoped that professionals will have a richer framework from which to provide support to both the parent and to their child. Implications for clinical practice, the strengths and limitations of the methodology and directions for future research are discussed.

When a child has been sexually abused, the non-offending parent and child may benefit from an intervention aimed at enhancing the parent child relationship. This mixed-methods study examined the process of child parent relationship therapy (CPRT) with non-offending parents of children who had been sexually abused. One purpose of the present study was to examine change in parent-child relationship, child behavior, and parent empathy of non-offending parents whose children have been sexually abused after participation in CPRT. A secondary purpose of this study was to explore subjective experiences of non-offending parents who participate in CPRT. Participants (N = 8) completed 11 weeks of CPRT in either Spanish speaking (n = 4) or English speaking (n = 4) groups. All participants completed pretest and posttest instruments including Child Behavior Checklist, Parenting Stress Index, and Measurement of Empathy in Adult-Child Interaction. Pretest and posttest means were reported but because of small sample size, only descriptive statistics are reported. Possible trends in pretest/posttest mean scores of the quantitative instruments are discussed. All participants also completed a post semi-structured interview to account for the experience of participants qualitatively. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed enhanced parent-child relationships, improved communication, greater acceptance, positive parental internal changes, positive behavioral changes in child, and positive changes in discipline.