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Breaking the Silence; Healing From Childhood Sexual Abuse

NCJ Number
153276
Author(s)
C Black
Date Published
1992
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This two-part video presents a lecture on child-sexual-abuse victims' coping reactions to their victimization and the treatment required to remedy the dysfunctional effects of these coping reactions.
Abstract
Part I first notes that victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse come from all types of backgrounds; behaviors that can be classified as child sexual abuse are then outlined, including verbal sexual abuse that provokes mental harm to the child victim. Overall, child sexual abuse has the effect of interrupting constructive emotional development in children. In identifying and discussing prevalent coping reactions to sexual abuse, the lecturer advises that these are normal means that the mind uses to protect itself from painful emotional experiences. Coping strategies reviewed are denial, which involves pretending that the abusive experiences have not occurred; compartmentalization, which consists of segmenting the pain within mental functioning to permit satisfactory functioning in daily responsibilities; splitting, which involves detaching oneself from painful emotional participation in the abuse; loss of recall, that is, conscious suppression of the painful abuse; sexual promiscuity or avoidance; self-abuse; and phobias. The second part of the video focuses on the necessary aspects of treatment that address the perpetuation of dysfunctional coping mechanisms. The treatment involves facing the truth of the nature of the abuse, the pain and rage it engendered, and the dysfunctional nature of coping measures that developed. This occurs in the presence of a professional who understands and accepts without judgment the feelings and behavior involved while guiding the survivor toward the resolution of problematic feelings. In the course of this discussion, the lecturer comments on how to handle rage, the nature of forgiveness, and aspects of the "inner child" that must be addressed if healing is to occur.