What is Sexual Abuse?

Sexual abuse is an umbrella term for all types of sexual mistreatment. Sexual abuse can include being forced to watch porn as a child or to perform sexual acts that you did not want to do. 

Other words for Sexual Abuse.....

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  • Rape
  • Sexual Assault
  • Childhood Sexual Abuse
  • Molestation
  • Clergy Abuse
  • Sex Trafficking
  • Marital Rape
  • Date Rape
  • College Campus Rape
  • Sexual Misconduct

Was I Raped?

Rape is specifically any non-consensual penetration of a bodily opening (the mouth, the anus, or the vagina). 
Sometimes it is easier to figure out if an act was consensual than to figure out if the act was rape. Consent is not just a verbal “yes.” Consent can be non-verbal and verbal but it always active, involved, and ongoing.
 
People are allowed to change their minds about having sex even in the middle of having sex. Many good reasons include:
  • Fear
  • Pain
  • Disinterest
  • Disrespect
At anytime that you became incapacitated, you withdrew your consent. That means passing out, falling asleep, and being too intoxicated to really participate. It also means having a mental disability that made it difficult to understand all that was happening to you, and being under-aged when your partner was an adult.

What Is Childhood Sexual Abuse?

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Were you abused growing up? Does the past come back up now that your own child is getting to the age that your abuse began? Are you trying to maintain relationships with loved ones who still care about your abuser? Do you suspect you wouldn’t choose poor partners if you dealt with your childhood abuse first?
 
Common Thoughts and Experiences:
  • This is unfair
  • I’m going crazy
  • Why me?
  • I’ve lost so much
  • Nowhere feels safe
  • I should be over this by now
  • No one will want me now
  • I’m ruined
 
I can help you figure out boundaries in order to maintain a relationship with your family and stop being triggered by your past. I would like to help you work through abuse even if it happened a long time ago. Are you ready to break the cycle for the next generation in your family?

RULE NUMBER ONE

I am not what happened to me!

What is Trauma?

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Trauma is any event that the body thinks is life-threatening. Although, sexual abuse does not usually result in death, sexual abuse is so invasive that the body does not know the difference.
 
Does it seem like you could be hurt again at any moment? Perhaps you’ve been avoiding people who look like your attacker? Maybe you’ve been keeping to yourself and avoiding sex all together even with your partner who cares about you. Or maybe you’re having unwanted sex or sex that puts you in harms way again.
 
Perhaps you have been feeling…
  • Guarded
  • Confused
  • Ashamed
  • Hurt
  • Spacey
  • Angry
  • Depressed
  • Numb
  • Scared
  • On alert
  • Overwhelmed
 
Therapy can help you get a handle on these feeling so they don’t feel like they’re coming out of nowhere. I’ll help you feel rooted in the now.

Recover From Sexual Abuse

Are You A Parent or Partner to a Survivor?

You already know to believe them

Now what? How do you protect them? Are you wondering how much to bring up the subject? Are you leaving your partner because they abused your child? Are you trying to understand how this could have happened without your knowing?
 
You love this person who is hurting, and you want to see them get better. At the end of therapy your loved one will know they can turn to you in dire circumstances. You will be able to keep your own fears and past separate from that of your loved one. I can help you to better support your loved one so that your family returns to a new sense of normalcy.

Call me for a free 15 minute phone consultation