Counselling Skills for Working With Trauma ─ Healing from Child Sexual Abuse, Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse

In this guide for professionals, Sanderson (psychology, U. of Roehampton and Birkbeck College, U. of London, UK) explains how to work with child and adult survivors of child abuse, neglect, rape, sexual violence, sexual trafficking, religious sexual abuse, and domestic abuse. She addresses the neurobiological and psychological impact of complex trauma and how to manage its core symptoms using the therapeutic model already in place and incorporating her therapeutic techniques. She discusses understanding trauma symptoms, the roles of dissociation and attachment, and assessment; safe trauma therapy, therapeutic challenges, building and maintaining the therapeutic relationship, and the process of recovery; establishing safety and control; teaching skills to improve daily life; managing sensations, feelings, grounding skills, flashbacks, panic attacks, nightmares, dissociation, negative thoughts and beliefs, fragmented memories, shame, guilt, self-blame, and self-harm; managing personal boundaries, relationships, sexuality, and loss and mourning; restoring reality and trust in the self, relapse prevention and maintaining self-care, and maintaining post-traumatic growth; and managing the impact on oneself. Annotation c2014 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Christiane Sanderson is a lecturer in Psychology at the University of Roehampton, and Birkbeck College, University of London. With 25 years' experience working in child sexual abuse interpersonal trauma and domestic abuse (and trauma), she has run consultancy and training for parents, teachers, social workers, nurses, (therapists), counsellors, solicitors, the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Committee, the Methodist Church, the Metropolitan Police Service and the Refugee Council. She is author of Counselling Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, 3rd edition, Counselling Survivors of Domestic Abuse, The Seduction of Children: Empowering Parents and Teachers to Protect Children from Child Sexual Abuse, and Introduction to Counselling Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma, also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. She has also written The Warrior Within: A One in Four Handbook to Aid Recovery from Sexual Violence and The Spirit Within: A One in Four Handbook to Aid Recovery from Religious Sexual Abuse Across All Faiths for the charity One in Four.