Program Profile: Sexual Abuse Treatment
March 17, 2022
We all have had a taste of what it feels like to have our lives turned upside down while living through the pandemic. What was once safe suddenly became dangerous. Simple acts that we once enjoyed became scary and even life-threatening. This is what happens in the life of a person who has experienced a sexual assault. Places, activities and people who were once considered safe change in an instant to a terrifying new reality and often it is very difficult to know how to navigate this nightmare and know where to turn for help.
At the HPHA, we offer a Sexual Abuse Treatment Program to help women heal after a sexual assault. The program is offered to women, aged 16 and up, who have experienced sexual assault recently or in their history. Everyone in the program starts off by learning skills for managing common symptoms from sexual abuse such as learning how to ground themselves back to the present after having a trigger or flashback; emotional regulation skills to help with feelings of overwhelm and numb; and healthy sleep hygiene to help combat nightmares and fear around bedtime. Self-care and healthy boundaries are taught as well to help participants develop a healthy life style to encourage healing. The women are taught a number of relaxation methods to increase parasympathetic nervous system activity to combat stress. Meditation is a part of the group and if any participant wishes to continue to strengthen their practice, further courses are offered.
This is all taught in a group format, currently offered for 10 weeks online. The group is made safe for women in that they do not have to share their story of what happened to them. This is for two reasons: firstly, this is most likely one of their most personal and difficult stories and secondly, they could be strongly triggered or feel vicarious trauma through hearing the other participants’ stories. Everyone in the group knows that they are there because they have been through something and are there to learn how to get back to themselves.
Typically, during the first couple group sessions, women are timid and unsure of what they have signed up for. This may even be the first time they have really acknowledged that they need help. However, by the midway point of the session there is a magic that happens as the participants realize that they are not alone in their struggles and feel connected, normal and cared for. The group process helps the women to see that they are having a normal reaction to something that should never have happened to them and their resiliency starts to build.
After the group is completed, some women feel like they have gotten what they wanted out of the program but most want to talk about their story and go deeper. For this, individual therapy is offered. Due to trauma psychotherapy being by it’s very nature, emotionally intense, the group work comes first to help build women’s emotional capacity to then dive more deeply if they choose. The main modes of psychotherapy offered are Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy which have both been shown to be highly effective in resolving trauma. The program is often a year commitment but the positive changes last for decades and help to give women their life back after it has been stolen. Women don’t need a physician’s referral to access the program, they can self-refer.
One of our clinicians has had the privilege of helping women heal from trauma for eleven years at HPHA.
"While at times I am astounded by the volume of women who need this service, I am continually in awe of the strength, courage and resiliency of the women that come into the program," she says. "Post Traumatic Growth is a true virtue of our character as human beings to not only survive difficulties in our lives but to integrate them and grow stronger and more beautiful through them. I see this continually as women face their fears and commit themselves to become the person they know they are inside, beyond the trauma."