Adult male survivors of childhood sexual abuse

This paper outlines the conclusions drawn from a qualitative research study which involved in-depth interviews with 2.5 adult males who had been sexually abused during childhood. The full findings have been described in Adult Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse published by Pitman (1995). The book includes many of the men's first person accounts of their experiences of abuse.     

A short-term group treatment model for gay male survivors of childhood sexual abuse living with HIV/AIDS

HIV-positive gay male survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) face three layers of trauma: childhood abuse, homophobic oppression, and HIV/AIDS. Additionally, CSA has been shown to increase HIV risk behavior among gay men, and the trauma of HIV infection often parallels the experience of CSA. Effective coping strategies are particularly important for people living with HIV/AIDS in order to adapt to physical, psychological, and social implications of infection. However, coping strategies once adaptive in the context of CSA may become maladaptive in adulthood. Interventions are needed that enhance coping and address CSA for survivors living with HIV/AIDS to protect their own health and to prevent new transmissions. This article presents a group model found to be efficacious for treating gay male survivors of CSA living with HIV/AIDS.     

Memory retrieval in treating adult survivors of sexual abuse

Abstract

Therapists working with adult survivors of sexual abuse must be sensitive to the powerful ambivalence such clients have toward addressing their victimization. They fear experiencing the significant emotional turmoil which occurs in therapy and the powerful loyalty conflicts they encounter in their families-of-origin. Establishing rapport and allowing clients to set the pace for disclosing and addressing their abuse are critical components of the therapy process. The authors describe effective Ericksonian approaches for establishing these critical treatment elements. Ericksonian techniques for utilizing the client's internal resources and retrieving repressed memories are also discussed, followed by case examples illustrating specific hypnotic methods.     

The impact of Christian counselling on survivors of sexual abuse

The absence of research and growing involvement of Christians in all areas of counselling gave rise to this study which explores the impact of Christian counselling on adult survivors of sexual abuse. The sample of 44 women and 5 men from an inter-denominational, self-help network, completed a self-report questionnaire of perceived Christian and professional counselling experiences involving issues of trust, power, directive approach, use of prayer and Scripture, responsibility and outcome. Results show that Christian counselling is experienced as qualitatively different from professional counselling: Christian counsellors are perceived as significantly more directive and more powerful than professional counsellors and the overall outcome was perceived more negatively. A number of key factors were identified which influenced the negative experience of some Christian counselling. These included having experience of professional counselling, an emphasis on the use of prayer and Scripture, perceiving the counsellor to have different goals from the client, feeling blamed for continued distress and having prior experience of prayer ministry. Implications for counselling practice and training are discussed.     

Supervising counsellors who work with survivors of childhood sexual abuse

This paper draws attention to issues for supervisors who support counsellors working with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse from the perspective of trauma theory. The author describes the effects of vicarious traumatization and the unconscious dynamics that contribute to this experience. A narrative approach is included as another way of supervisors listening to distressing stories, both those of clients and of their counsellors, and reflects on the value of bearing witness to those stories in supervision and of recognizing them as a source of healing.     

A parenting group for women dealing with child sexual abuse and substance abuse

This article describes a group developed to address the parenting needs of women dealing with child sexual abuse and substance abuse. A solution-focused 12-week group intervention is described, and the results of an evaluation are presented. Participants included 29 women who attended seven parenting groups. The results suggest that the group was perceived as beneficial by the women, who reported an increase in self-esteem, parenting satisfaction, and parenting self-esteem and an improvement in their attitudes toward their children.     

Histories of sexual abuse in adolescent male runaways

In this study, data on sexual victimization in the histories of 89 Canadian male runaways as well as information on physical victimization, family structure, family financial stability, delinquent and criminal activities, and reasons for running away from home were evaluated. The population of male runaways evidenced dramatically higher rates of sexual and physical abuse than did randomly sampled populations. Sexually abused and nonsexually abused male runaways shared characteristics noted in the literature as common to runaways: problem families, high rates of delinquency, depression, tension, low self-image, and history of physical abuse. Sexually abused male runaways differed from nonsexually abused runaways in their reactions to their runaway event, with sexually abused male runaways responding in highly avoidant patterns coupled with extreme withdrawal from all types of interpersonal relationships. These differences are explained as consistent with known sequelae of sexual abuse, and the implications for treatment by runaway shelters and for further research are suggested.     

Harnessing the power of the group for latency-aged sexual abuse victims

For children who have been sexually abused, group therapy is often a preferred treatment modality. Although much consideration has been given to what structured activities, goals, and objectives should be included in groups for sexually abused children, limited attention has been paid to the dynamics and processes inherent in the group. This article follows the dynamic unfolding of a short-term structured group for latency-aged, female sexual abuse victims. Special emphasis is placed on listening to the messages underlying children's actions and responding to the message rather than suppressing or limiting the behavior. It is argued that by attending to group dynamics and processes in a theme-focused group, structured activities become more effective and the power of the group can be harnessed to foster opportunities for healing that otherwise might go unrecognized.     

Psychodynamic group psychotherapy.

The author provides an overview of critical factors in the working phase of group psychotherapy from the perspective of psychodynamic theory. The discussion is organized around a clinical vignette to illustrate various types of intervention such as past, here and now, future; individual, interpersonal, group as a whole; in group--out of group; affect-cognition; and understanding--corrective emotional experience. The critical "windows into the unconscious," transference, counter-transference, and free association, are also discussed in terms of the clinical example. The author concludes his article with a few thoughts about the future of psychodynamic theory in relationship to group treatments.     

Self-centeredness and the adult male perpetrator of child sexual abuse

Self-centeredness has been identified as a quality of the adult male perpetrator of child sexual abuse, but little or no effort has been expended toward defining the concept clearly. In this paper, the research literature on the perpetrator and psychoanalytic writings on narcissism are reviewed for the purpose of developing a comprehensive definition of self-centeredness. Literature related to the social and developmental context of child sexual abuse also is discussed. In the final section of the paper, implications for primary prevention and treatment are drawn.This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Groves Conference on Marriage and the Family, July, 1986, in London, England. Support for the paper was provided through the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and the Faculty Summer Research Fellowship Program, Graduate School, University of Minnesota.     

Flashback phenomena in survivors of childhood sexual abuse: A four-stage treatment model

There has been a growing awareness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a consequence of childhood sexual trauma. Central to this diagnosis is the flashback experience. Flashbacks are essentially memories which have not been integrated into everyday consciousness and return as intrusive symptoms, usually accompanied by dread and panic. This article presents a treatment strategy based on a four-stage model. The model includes (1) education; (2) assisting clients in identifying their flashback patterns; (3) designing coping strategies; and (4) processing the flashback. The goal is to assist the client with the management and integration of traumatic memory.This article is based on a paper practical guidelines to treating incest survivors' flashbacks presented at the World Congress of Cognitive Therapy, Toronto, June 1992.     

Psychological assessment of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse within a naturalistic clinical sample

This study investigates the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Differences between abused and nonabused individuals in psychiatric symptomatology, interpersonal functioning, social and occupational functioning, personality dynamics, and therapeutic alliance were examined. The relationship between abuse severity and long-term effects was also analyzed. Data were gathered from 51 patients seeking individual psychotherapy at a community outpatient clinic. Findings suggested that CSA survivors tend to experience greater psychiatric distress and poorer interpersonal functioning than nonabused clinical controls. No significant differences were found in social and occupational functioning or in alliance developed by the end of the therapeutic assessment process. Abuse severity was significantly related to increased symptomatology and poorer interpersonal functioning. Findings support and extend existing literature and are especially useful for clinicians working with abuse survivors.     

The sound link: Psychodynamic group music therapy in a therapeutic community setting

SUMMARY

This paper explores the efficacy of on-going weekly psychodynamic group music therapy with those with chronic mental illness in a therapeutic-community setting. Co-improvised music-making was the primary medium of communication and connection in the group, combined with a period for verbal reflection. Central to the therapist's thesis is that the shared music medium primarily acts as a way of expressing, organising and containing the experience of individual members and of the group. It allows for contact between members at a pre-verbal, preconscious level. For this particular patient group, contacts made at this level can be critical to their further ability to tolerate and integrate feelings in a more verbal and conscious way. The music-therapy setting is seen as aiding the process of linking together these two areas of experience, thus providing patients with a potentially freer, less restricted, way of relating to themselves and each other.