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.