Psychodynamic group therapy for male survivors of sexual abuse

The group therapy literature on male sexual abuse is very preliminary and concerned solely with short-term support models. This paper describes a long-term psychodynamic therapy group for male survivors that has been running successfully in a clinic setting for almost three years. This combined group and individual treatment approach presupposes the selection of men who are capable of using group process to explore basic personality and relationship problems. With sexually abused men, certain treatment issues are paramount. These concern the safety of group boundaries, power and control, facilitating intimacy, handling shame and guilt, and the effects of trauma. Special attention is given to the gender-related dynamics and conflicts that occur in a group of male survivors with a male leader.