Sexual Assault

Sexual assault and abuse can result in severe physical and emotional trauma to the survivor. Although symptom response to an assault may vary from person to person, survivors may also suffer from social scrutiny, mistreatment, medical/legal trauma, work complications, financial costs, and self-blame.

Our therapists help survivors make sense of their memories and reduce the emotional impact of the assault. Using cognitive behavior therapy, EMDR, Brainspotting, and/or Flash techniques, we work to lower the distress of the memories so the intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and nightmares are significantly lowered or diminished. By using these counseling techniques, survivors do not need to discuss their trauma in detail, which can help prevent retraumatization by retelling the events.

Our therapists also teach survivors relaxation techniques, coping skills, anger management, assertiveness training, and communication training, depending upon the individual’s needs.

Trauma symptoms often do not tend to go away by themselves. The earlier survivors begin therapy, the sooner they can begin addressing symptoms and turning their lives around. Survivors who do not seek treatment often begin to avoid the painful thoughts, feelings, and situations that may trigger thoughts of the event; this prevents the memory from being understood and seen clearly, and so the individual does not regain a sense of control.