Counselling Adult Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse

This updated and expanded edition provides comprehensive coverage of the theory and practice of counselling survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA). In a reasoned and thoughtful approach, this book honestly addresses the complex issues in this important area of work, providing practical strategies valuable and new insights for counsellors.

Praise for the Second Edition: `This is a user-friendly, readable, practical guide to assist survivors of childhood sexual abuse that will be particularly useful to students and practitioners who are new to this field′ - Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health `This is a book that should give those who find themselves working with sexual abuse survivors some tools and skills for the job′ - Young Minds Magazine `This book will be found valuable by all therapists and counsellors, not just those who have a special interest in childhood sexual abuse. Many will want to follow up the well-selected references the author gives. The detailed index will also help one to browse and read selectively′ - Sexual and Relationship Therapy The experience of childhood sexual abuse is a trauma which continues to have an impact on survivors thoughout their lives. The pervasive and long-term effects that stem from sexual abuse make it vital that counsellors become adept at addressing the unique and complex needs of survivors. In this Third Edition of Counselling Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Claire Burke Draucker and Donna S Martsolf identify the significant healing processes which are essential to achieve recovery. These include: " disclosing the abuse " reinterpreting it from an adult perspective " addressing issues related to the context of the abuse; and " making desired life changes. Each of these processes is discussed in conjunction with the most effective counselling interventions to facilitate resolution. Carefully chosen case examples demonstrate the appropriate use of interventions in practice. The Third Edition includes a wealth of new material covering memory retrieval, outcome research, multicultural counselling, emerging therapeutic approaches, and neuroscience and counseling. Dynamics and difficulties in the therapeutic relationship are also discussed in great depth.

The author, working from the Family Institute in Cardiff, has been treating adult survivors of child sexual and physical abuse for several years, and she has clearly and frankly described her work in this book. She begins be describing the context for working with her clients; then describes the way she has welded systemic thinking and a feminist perspective into a theoretical model she uses to understand the problem and to guide her own work with the survivors. The descriptions of the therapeutic process are, at the same time, profound and simply conveyed. Her work is further clarified by the inclusion of twenty case examples. She shares her own dilemmas about working with adult survivors, and in this way the book offers the reader support for the emotional impact of this work as well as a theoretical framework and suggestions about therapeutic technique.

This book presents the therapist with a reflective and robust framework for group treatment that promotes an end to the shame and secrecy so frequently experienced by survivors. Through a series of tools such as visualisations and art exercises, the practitioner is guided through the process of establishing and running a group in this modality. The synthesis of both an educational and a process-based model is imbued with a sense of warmth and a deep understanding of this client group. Themes such as self-soothing, boundaries, inner-child work, endings, and ways forward drive this therapeutic approach. Taking group work as the optimum matrix for change with this client population, this model provides a convincing rationale for the establishment of said work as best practice in the institutions that provide for their care. Practicing therapists and mental health nurses will find this new model of therapy an instrumental resource in their approach to treatment for survivors of trauma and abuse.

Childhood abuse in all its forms is a major social and psychological problem in the UK and globally. Without effective help, survivors struggle with enduring anguish and self-harming behaviours that affect all aspects of their lives and relationships. In their new book, Zoë Pool and Michael Jacobs seek to increase our understanding of the therapeutic needs of adult survivors of childhood abuse. They describe the therapeutic services offered by a dedicated counselling agency, founded by the late Moira Walker. Here, relationships between therapist and client, and client and all parts of themselves, are prioritized. Throughout this text, survivor and practitioner perspectives are integrated with current research. Pool and Jacobs explore the impact that working with survivors of traumatic, adverse childhood experiences can have on therapists, including vicarious trauma, and consider what is needed to sufficiently support practitioners. Survivors and those close to them will find this book supportive and validating; helpful and informative. The many practitioners – in the voluntary sector, health and social care, and in private practice - who work with survivors to alleviate their distress, will find much to assist in this much needed book, which combines practice and theory skillfully and thoughtfully. "This is a seminal book. It is clearly and transparently written with a warm relational heart shining through the sensible and straightforward language. It is an intrinsic celebration of Moira Walker's legacy as well as a continuation of it. Professor Michael Jacobs and Zoe Pool and their talented hardworking contributors are to be deeply congratulated." Valerie Sinason, Founder of the Clinic for Dissociative studies, a child psychotherapist and adult psychoanalyst, poet and writer "The stated hope of this book, to affirm and inspire the work of counsellors in the area of abuse, is absolutely fulfilled. A thorough explanation of the needs of clients is outlined based on a clear summary of the impact of abuse. The therapeutic relationship and possibility of longer term therapy are found to be key factors in good outcomes. Awareness of and ways of working with disassociation and taking into account attachment issues are not ignored and honest learning from practice is documented. This book will be a useful resource to a range of people – counsellors, supervisors and managers can gain insight and inspiration from the learning shared especially in regard to setting up an agency, the impact of counselling in this area, the judicial and legal process and supervision." Tanya Orr, Chair of tag "This book is an inspirational account of how voluntary counselling organisations can help survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) to recover and heal from trauma and abuse. It is a welcome and timely book given the increase in the number of disclosures from survivors of CSA and who need therapeutic support and yet have difficulty accessing service provision. This has created a desperate need for specialist counselling services that can address the specific needs of survivors of CSA and provide longer term therapeutic support. This book will be invaluable to anyone working in such agencies to understand how they can help survivors to heal through one to one counselling and group work, and how to navigate and face the challenges of the criminal justice system. The chapters on the impact the work has on practitioners and the importance of supervision are essential reading for all those working in the field to minimise the risk of vicarious traumatisation. The book is a must for all those practitioners, voluntary counsellors, supervisors and support staff in voluntary agencies who provide much needed support to survivors of CSA." Christiane Sanderson, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of Roehampton, UK

Presents first-hand accounts from two male survivors of childhood sexual abuse and from the counsellor who worked with them. The author describes the counsellor's perspective, and draws out the implications for counselling practice.

"Component-based psychotherapy for childhood abuse is not a sequenced model, but it deliberately attends to the following four components: (1) relational, focused on client and therapist attachment styles and relational patterns with the intent of building a secure attachment as the context of the remaining work; (2) self-regulation, not only of emotions but of cognitions and behavior; (3) dissociative parts of self and their identification and elicitation; and (4) narrative construction of a coherent self. CPB does so in a way that is client-centered, flexible, and fluid, yet it is also systematic and has a structure. Each chapter offers observations of false starts, missed opportunities, pivotal interactions, and alternate approaches in response to particular exchanges between therapist and client, and highlights and builds upon interactions and interpretations perceived to bear promise"--

This updated and expanded edition provides comprehensive coverage of the theory and practice of counselling survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA). In a reasoned and thoughtful approach, common stereotypes of abusers and their victims are replaced with current knowledge on the incidence of CSA and its long-term impacts on adult survivors. Christiane Sanderson explores the therapeutic relationship from building trust and meeting the client's needs to establishing boundaries, addressing transference issues and avoiding secondary traumatic stress. She evaluates various treatment approaches and techniques, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of group therapy. Stand-alone chapters provide in-depth coverage of: * CSA's impact on survivors' sense of self and their relationships with others * self-harming behaviour, including self-injury, substance abuse and eating disorders * how memory is constructed and reconstructed, including the controversial issues surrounding recovered memories * useful approaches to coping with fear and loss from working with other types of trauma * normal sexual development and typical sexual difficulties for survivors * working with shame and dissociation. Counselling Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse honestly addresses the complex issues in this important area of work. It provides practical strategies for those new to counselling in this field and valuable new insights for experienced counsellors.