Sexual Abuse / Assault

Sexual harassment is common in middle school, according to research published in the journal Children and Youth Services Review. Although 43% of middle schoolers reported experiencing verbal ... Read More

I imagine it took a lot of courage to share this deeply painful experience with a doctor and to write in and share it here, too. It seems like you are ready to begin to address the past ... Read More

I was recently reading a blog post and noticed that someone in the comment section asked the question: “What does it mean when we refer to someone as a survivor?” We hear about “survivors” ... Read More

“I’ve been fine for years. Now I have nightmares every night and can barely function at work. What’s going on?” “I thought I was over it. I even went to therapy as a kid! Why ... Read More

Sexual assault, a difficult subject for many people to talk or even think about, is an unfortunate reality for the approximately 250,000 people who are sexually assaulted in the United ... Read More

Of course you are concerned! Anytime we see a behavior like that in a child and she or he is unable or unwilling to explain the change, we fear the worst. Your primary responsibility is ... Read More

A friend, loved one, or family member pulls you aside to talk. He or she is normally quiet and reserved; this seems out of the ordinary. “I have something very important to tell you. ... Read More

It is the nature of abuse within families to be as behaviorally nuanced and emotionally complex as the individuals involved. Relationship abuses nearly inevitably reveal a life-draining ... Read More

It can be hard to know for certain whether what you have been experiencing is, in fact, a series of previously repressed memories or something else. It is very possible to rediscover memories ... Read More

Thank you for writing. I am so sorry this happened to you. It frankly makes my blood boil. This breach and exploitation is exactly what therapists are never supposed to do. To me, it’s ... Read More

Following a traumatic event, several symptoms may arise in a person. Posttraumatic stress manifests in a variety of ways: reexperiencing the trauma via nightmares and flashbacks, avoidance ... Read More

Thanks for writing in, and for the excellent question. I’d first like to congratulate you for having what appears to be an unusually expansive empathy, in that you are trying to do ... Read More