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Wall of Fear: The Bridge Between the Traumatic Event and Trauma Resolution Therapy for Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors

NCJ Number
212093
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: 2005 Pages: 23-47
Author(s)
Sheri Oz
Date Published
2005
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This article examines the concept of the “Wall of Fear” as a bridge linking the trauma of child sexual abuse to trauma resolution therapy.
Abstract
The experience of child sexual abuse is regarded as highly traumatic and victims and survivors of this type of abuse often seek therapeutic treatment. While a plethora of research describes the symptoms, long-term effects, and therapeutic models for survivors of abuse, there has been relatively little discussion on the parallels between the nature of the traumatic abuse experienced by the victim and the therapeutic process later engaged in by the survivor. The argument presented in this paper is that the Wall of Fear is the bridge connecting the traumatic abuse to the therapeutic process. An examination of why child sexual abuse is so traumatizing includes a model of the typical abuse experience. The stages of therapy are described, with particular attention paid to the concept of the Wall of Fear and the process of traumatic memory resolution. The author suggests that the Wall of Fear should become a focal point of therapy for survivors of child sexual abuse since it is a defining feature of the reason they sought therapy. Figures, references

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