NCJ Number
149321
Date Published
1993
Length
143 pages
Annotation
The objectives of this workshop for adult survivors of child sexual abuse are to provide a structured, supportive group experience in which individuals gain information about child sexual abuse and its current and later effects on their life.
Abstract
The time-limited, structured workshop consists of eight to ten 2-hour sessions. Membership should be limited to between 8 and 12 participants. A smaller group provides more psychological safety for individuals with a history of child sexual abuse. Minilectures are presented to provide information on child sexual abuse. Individual and group exercises, as well as the full-group discussions, provide opportunities to experience and share emotions. The lectures and exercises are sequenced to help participants sort through the information they receive and deal with the emotions stimulated by the material. The workshop design promotes balance between intellectual understanding and emotional awareness. The core of this manual is information for the instructors on each of eight sessions. Information on each session addresses objectives, introduction of the session to participants, exercise descriptions, background material for group leaders, and handouts. The sessions cover the following topics: background information on child sexual abuse; the context of sexual abuse (family rules and dysfunction); child sexual abuse as trauma; common effects of child sexual abuse; coping with the aftermath of sexual abuse trauma in childhood and adulthood; adult survivor issues (self-perceptions and learned roles and relations with others); and supportive people, support networks, and other resources for recovery.