Adults with histories of being abused as children present unique challenges for counselors. For instance, these clients often struggle with establishing and maintaining a therapeutic alliance. They may rapidly shift their notion of the counselor from very favorable to very unfavorable in line with concomitant shifts in their emotional states.
Tag: sexual abuse
Millions of human trafficking victims exist across the globe. In the United States, hundreds of thousands of victims experience trafficking. As society expands and evolves, human trafficking perpetrators find new ways to recruit and victimize others. The evolution of perpetration ensues because of increases in accessing technology, shifting state and
Attempting to work from a purely cognitive or emotional perspective with clients who have experienced sexual trauma is like trying to build a sturdy house without laying down a solid foundation. Facilitating recovery from sexual trauma demands the inclusion of the site of the original wounding — the body. A
You should be ashamed of yourself.” How many of us have heard — or perhaps even used — that phrase? Being on the receiving end of such a pronouncement is never pleasant. More important, experts firmly believe that attempting to wield shame as an instrument of change is both ineffective
My journey (Brooke Bagley) of developing a five-phase model of counseling began in 2013 as I was completing my master’s-level graduate program and transitioning into a therapy position at a local area sexual assault center where I had worked since 2010. For the past three-plus years, I have listened to
Survivors and activists have sought for decades to shine a light on the issue of sexual assault on college campuses with everything from Take Back the Night events to No Means No education campaigns. A Columbia University student who graduated in May made national headlines when she spent her senior
One of the most widely published statistics on child sexual abuse, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2005, asserts that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. Furthermore, research by John Read and colleagues in 2004 estimated
Mateo (not his real name) sat on the floor in my office playroom. Each week in therapy, he routinely played with a small plastic doll and every time, without fail, he placed objects in the doll’s mouth. This day, however, he did something more aggressive. His eyes wide and his
Working with children who have been sexually abused has taught me many things. While some children progress very quickly, I have learned to have patience with the children whose recovery comes more slowly. I’ve learned to be careful in taking notes, how to spot parents or guardians who are trying