I have worked with victim/survivors of recent and past sexual assault for 12 years as a counsellor/advocate.  This experience has been invaluable to my clinical work.

I am aware of what is helpful and importantly what is not helpful when someone discloses sexual abuse often for the first time in their lives.  These experiences are so difficult (but not impossible) for someone to talk about because often the feelings that were experienced during the abuse, such as shame, humiliation, embarrassment, anger and pain, arise. 
Importantly I am mindful of the feelings of powerlessness that are central to a victim/survivor’s experience regardless of the circumstances of the assault and the importance of my clients having a sense of control over the process. 

I tell my clients to “only talk about what you want to talk about”.  I work with the notion that addressing the traumatic memories directly is not always helpful and can sometimes be damaging but I am there to listen and bear witness to those who do want to talk about what happened.  I keep myself well informed with contemporary research on trauma which is an ever growing field of knowledge. 

I have great confidence in the benefits of therapy for someone who has experienced sexual assault.  As Judith Herman contemporary psychotherapist states in her book Trauma and Recovery 1992,

The core experiences of psychological trauma are disempowerment and disconnection from others.  Recovery, therefore, is based upon the empowerment of the survivor and the creation of new connections.  Recovery therefore can only take place within the context of relationships; it cannot occur in isolation’. 

What I have found in my work with survivors and the feedback that they give me is that the therapeutic relationship is often a significant factor in the positive shifts and improvements that occur. 

Of primary concern, when working with people who have experienced sexual assault, is to focus on the safety of my client.  When I speak of safety, I mean emotional safety.  I recognise that people can become overwhelmed and possibly retraumatised if the therapist isn’t aware of the psychophysiology of trauma.  By this I mean the way traumatic memories are stored differently within the brain and body from other so called normal memories and how certain things may trigger a feeling of danger when in fact the person is not in danger.  This is very common for survivors of traumatic events such as sexual assault.  It is these unexplained, out of the blue, overwhelming feelings and body responses that make life extremely difficult and ultimately restricted. 

For more information about the psychophysiology of trauma go to www.trauma.cc
For information about trauma go to  www.sidran.org

If you would like to read more about sexual assault and services that are available to you go to www.casa.org.au


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