This book takes an innovative approach to using narrative therapy in counselling people who have been subject to childhood sexual abuse. Reclaiming Lives from Sexual Violence presents an illustrative case study of the authors, Tim the therapist in consultation with Dale the client, who was sexually abused as a child by a clergy member. The book is unique in documenting their therapeutic work using transcripts taken directly from their sessions together. This narrative approach invites the reader to consider different ways of engaging in therapy in order to challenge the dominant social discourses around masculinity and shame. Looking at shame from a position of value awareness rather than a deficit perspective, this book extends counselling to consider the individual experience as political and one that must be shared outside the one-to-one therapy environment. This will be an essential resource for beginning or established therapists and practitioners working with clients who have been victims of sexual violence.

Go beyond surviving to reclaim your sexual self. If you have experienced sexual abuse, assault, harassment, or rape, you may feel disconnected from your sexual self—even if you’ve overcome the initial trauma of your experience. You are a survivor; but surviving is just the beginning. This book explores what comes next. Written by a psychotherapist and grounded in cutting-edge research, Reclaiming Pleasure picks up where other sexual trauma recovery books leave off. It offers practical tools to help you cultivate a sense of safety, security and trust in order to reclaim the vitality, pleasure and great sex you deserve. The book will also serve as your compass on a journey toward the rediscovery of desire, letting you explore what you want from others and for yourself. This groundbreaking book will help you: Understand the lasting mental, physical, sexual, and relational impacts of sexual trauma Move beyond feelings of shame Reclaim pleasure and reignite passion in your life Surviving is merely the first step in the process of recovery from sexual trauma. With this sex-positive and empowering guide, you are invited to take your recovery to the next level. You’ll feel emboldened by the desire for better sex, healthier relationships, and a more connected, pleasurable life.

It is estimated that at least one in four or five women and one out of ten men was sexually abused as a child by a family member. Most of those people continue to suffer in adulthood because of undeserved guilt, anxiety, and shame. Reclaiming Our Lives, written by a survivor of abuse and a psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of adult survivors of abuse, uses interviews with survivors and a healing approach to track the adult problems and what to do about them. Issues of trust, power, control, sexuality, and intimacy are examined in detail. The book concludes with an alphabet of survival tactics and a fourteen-step guide for growth for the survivor.

Victims of sexual assault experience their trauma in different ways, and often one path to recovery and healing is right for one person, but not right for another. While there are some general mental health effects of sexual violence, this book outlines and describes the impact of particular types of sexual violation. Whether the survivor has experienced childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault during adulthood, marital rape, sexual harassment, sex trafficking, or sexual violence within the military, they will find aspects of her experience in these pages. Once survivors understand the ways in which they have been affected, they are introduced to various pathways to surviving sexual violence and moving forward. The chapters provide case examples and specific activities which give a fuller description of the ways survivors can make use of the particular approaches, which include mind-body practices, counseling, group therapies, self-defense training, and others. Anyone who has been a victim of sexual violence, or knows and cares about someone who has, will find relief in these pages, which offer practical approaches to finding balance and healing.

This powerful client workbook is written in an encouraging and easy-to-understand style specifically for women who have been sexually assaulted and have developed chronic symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Clients learn how cognitive-behavioral therapy has helped other victims and how it can work for them. This book explains how to distinguish PTSD symptoms from other disorders and teaches powerful techniques for overcoming these symptoms. In writing this book, the authors aim to address two goals. First, they want to present information about PTSD and related problems in language understandable to nonprofessionals. This information will include a review of the studies on posttrauma problems and on the effectiveness of different treatments. They also describe why some survivors develop PTSD and others do not. The second goal of the book is to provide a detailed client workbook for the treatment of trauma-related problems, especially PTSD, to assist clients working with a therapist. The authors are aware of the fact that people have different problems and different needs. What works for one person may not work for another. Therefore, they describe several different treatment techniques. The book is organized around the different cognitive-behavioral techniques that have been studied and proven effective with women sufferers of PTSD following an assault. Throughout the book, the authors focus mainly on women who have been sexually assaulted and as a result developed chronic symptoms of PTSD, which have disturbed their daily functioning and cause them emotional distress. Most of the examples they use to demonstrate the cognitive-behavioral techniques are drawn from their experience in treating rape survivors. However, the cognitive-behavioral procedures outlined here have been as successful in helping women who have been sexually abused in childhood and adult female survivors of nonsexual assaults, like aggravated assault and robbery. Other survivors of traumas such as natural disasters and car accidents were also helped by this cognitive-behavioral approach.

A story of healing and a guide to seeking justice after sexual abuse from Brooke Axtell, one of the foremost survivor experts on sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking When Brooke Axtell was seven years old, her nanny subjected her to sex trafficking. Today, she is a champion and advocate for women around the world who have experienced sexual violence and trauma. Beautiful Justice shares Brooke's own gripping story, both the trauma of sex trafficking and also her pathway through healing, moving on, and reclaiming power. Along the way, she imparts warm wisdom for others who have experienced similar violence, providing lessons from her own life and from the thousands of women, advocates, and lawmakers she's spoken with. Relying on her own experiences and a keen awareness of public policy, she provides a clear-eyed awareness of the ways that our culture and government work against women experiencing violence around the world. Inspiring and powerfully redemptive, Brooke encourages readers to take part in a creative resistance as a path to justice.

"With compassion and clarity, Richard Gartner shares insights from years of working with male survivors. Among this book's greatest strengths is the extensive use of examples from Dr. Gartner's clinical practice to illustrate problems and solutions on the path to healing. Beyond Betrayal offers support, encouragement, and useful skills to men in recovery." --Mike Lew, M.Ed., author of Victims No Longer and Leaping upon the Mountains "If you have been sexually abused, this book will give you information, hope, direction, and most importantly, the assurance that you are not alone. Dr. Gartner has written an accessible, compassionate book that clearly lays out the healing process for men who were hurt or abused as children. Whether you were abused by a mother, a camp counselor, a neighborhood boy, or a priest, Beyond Betrayal will give you the tools you need to reclaim your life and move on. If you're going to take one book with you on the healing journey, this should be the one." --Laura Davis, coauthor of The Courage to Heal and author of The Courage to Heal Workbook "Compassionate, insightful, and hopeful, Beyond Betrayal shines a bright light. It is a must-read for anyone concerned." --Kenneth M. Adams, Ph.D., author of Silently Seduced "Beyond Betrayal cuts through the shame, confusion, misunderstanding, and fear that so often accompany the abuse of males and replaces them with clear information. I will begin to use it immediately with my patients and think that other clinicians will do so as well." --Christine A. Courtois, Ph.D., author of Healing the Incest Wound and Recollections of Sexual Abuse "Beyond Betrayal offers men straightforward words of hope and a meaningful way to overcome the invisibility, stigma, and shame they have endured. Many men and their families will find this book a healing aid." --Jack Drescher, M.D., author of Psychoanalytic Therapy and the Gay Man "Dr. Gartner writes in a manner any reader will find accessible. Not only does he understand the topic of males, sexual abuse, and recovery, but he can explain it to those who need to know." --Dr. Mic Hunter, author of Abused Boys and editor of Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse: Treatment Innovations