This blog will continue the discussion in more detail regarding the treatment issues teenagers of sexual abuse often deal with.

There are two main objectives in sexual abuse treatment:

 

Common treatment issues for victims of sexual abuse:

  • Trust, including patterns in relationships
  • Emotional reactions to sexual abuse
  • Behavioral reactions to sexual abuse
  • Cognitive reactions to sexual abuse
  • Protection from future victimization

 

Trust: It is interesting during the teenage years, parents are talking with their teens about trusting them and yet when it comes to sexual abuse it is typically an adult that betrays the innocence of a child or teen. Teenagers that have suffered sexual abuse have great difficulty relying on the care, character, ability, strength and truth of others. How does anyone overcome such a violation of their person? This is why therapy is important. A therapist will work with your teen to learn to develop trust again.

Issues with relationships: Of course, we know that healthy relationships are based on trust; being able to have confidence in someone. Your teen will be struggling as he/she begins the process of learning how to build appropriate relationships. This process may take a long time.

Emotional Reactions to Sexual Abuse: The emotions of teenagers can keep your head spinning in everyday life. Imagine the emotions your teen is experiencing from sexual abuse. The emotions of teenagers are so volatile.

Three common emotional consequences of sexual abuse:

  • Feeling responsible. Your teen may feel guilty that they did not stop the sexual abuse or may feel they caused the abuse. They have to learn that it is not their fault. They are the victim.
  • Altered sense of self. Your teen may look at themselves differently than their peers. He/she may feel less than perfect and label themselves as a victim of sexual abuse. The feelings of guilt and the invasive and intrusive nature of the sexual abuse has a negative effect on your teen’s self worth and self esteem. Therapy will address this issue.
  • Anxiety and fear: You may see the development of phobia or anxiety in your teen. Situations or places that remind your teen of the sexual abuse may cause anxiety. Sometimes you will see reactions of regression, anger, depression or symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These emotional reactions often become apparent in behaviors.

 

Behavioral Reactions to Sexual Abuse can include:

 

A serious reaction is sexualized behavior. Every act of sexualized behavior has the potential for increasing the probability of future acts. Sexual acting out has a negative impact on the teen’s sense of self. Labeling the behavior problems as common reactions helps the victim resolve emotional issues. It is important that your teen understands the relationship between the behaviors and the sexual abuse and their emotional reactions to it.

It is important to help your teen understand the self-destructive nature of some of these behaviors and to teach him/her appropriate ways to express emotions. This is quite successful in group therapy settings.

Cognitive Reactions to Sexual Abuse: An important part of treatment of victims of sexual abuse is to help them understand the meaning of the abuse. This includes learning what appropriate and inappropriate touching entails; how pornography and exhibition are forms of sexual abuse; why they were chosen as targets and what that means to them. Group therapy is often used for this purpose.

Protection From Future Victimization: Obviously, it is important for your teen have strategies to for future protection. Group therapy is a great avenue for teens to discuss strategies, role play and feel comfortable with knowing it is okay to protect themselves from possible future sexual abuse and to build self esteem.

Recovery is possible. It takes time, patience and understanding.

Reference:
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/sexabuse/sexabusec.cfm
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trust