September 8, 2005

Healing adults sexually abused as children

Editor’s Note: An estimated one in three girls and one in six boys under the age of 18 have been sexually abused, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 1999. The Evergreen Times recently sat with Crystal West, a licensed marriage and family therapist in San Jose, to provide readers with a better understanding of the problem and how affected adults can heal their past.

Evergreen Times: Is sexual abuse against children on the rise?

Crystal West: There is more media attention on this issue, but it is unclear whether actual cases of sexual abuse have increased. I believe that the increased media attention indicates a greater recognition that the problem exists.
Many experts believe that childhood sexual abuse is under-reported due to children being afraid to tell anyone what happened and due to the fact that the legal procedure for validating an episode is difficult.

Crystal C. West, a licensed marriage and family therapist, works with adults who suffered from sexual abuse as children.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it is believed that male victimization is particularly under-reported for a variety of reasons. Due to society’s influence, a boy may define the abuse as a sexual experience, especially if the perpetrator is a woman.

Also, males are often socialized not to share their problems with others. In addition, if the perpetrator is a male, the victim may not report due to societal taboos.

ET: Who are the typical abusers?

CW: According to a study entitled “The Commercial Exploit-ation of Children in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico,” 49 percent of all sexual assaults against children are committed by people known to the child or the child’s family, such as physicians, teachers and coaches. Also, the study found that family members commit 47 percent of all reported sexual assaults against children in their own homes.

ET: What are the typical effects of childhood sexual abuse if left unresolved?

CW: Clinicians and researchers report many problems associated with childhood sexual abuse. As adults, they may experience many long-term effects, including relationship problems, isolation, substance abuse, eating disorders, anxiety, sexual problems and depression.

Although these issues are associated with childhood sexual abuse, it is important to note that having these problems does not necessarily indicate that someone was sexually abused as a child.

A recent research study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, as reported by United Press International on May 19, found that “both men and women who experience childhood sexual abuse have an increased risk of developing health and social problems. Suicide attempts were more likely among both male and female victims of sexual abuse compared to non-victims.”

This study found that “… a history of childhood sexual abuse appears to affect men as strongly as it does women.”

The data provides strong evidence that exposure to childhood sexual abuse among both genders is common, and acts as a strong risk factor for multiple types of mental health, behavioral and social outcomes for adult men and women.

The researchers highlight “the importance of identifying and treating the lasting effects of sexual abuse in both women and men.”

ET: Can memories of childhood sexual abuse be forgotten and then be remembered?

CW: According to the American Psychological Association, more research is needed, but what is known is that “… most people who were sexually abused as children remember all or part of what happened to them, although they may not fully understand or disclose it.”

And “… although it is a rare occurrence, a memory of early childhood abuse that has been forgotten can be remembered later.” Whether the memories are true is not known. However, the Ameri-can Psychological Association recognizes that “the issue of repressed or suggested memories has been over-reported and sensationalized by the news media.”

My focus with clients is on healing, not on trying to figure out exactly what happened when they were children. I agree with Peter A. Levine, author of the book, “Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma” who says, “It is not important whether memories are objectively accurate. Of prime importance is whether the associated activation escalates or resolves. It is essential that the unresolved activation locked in the nervous system be discharged. This transformation has nothing to do with memory. It has to do with the process of completing our survival instincts.”

In other words, it is important to address and resolve the symptoms that a person experiences that interfere with his or her current ability to function in terms of work, school and social relationships.

ET: What if someone has totally repressed the memory?

CW: If a client of mine suspects, but doesn’t remember his or her own childhood sexual abuse, I work with that person in terms of the present issues. I believe that healing is a natural process; if people are given the needed assistance, healing occurs at the pace of the individual. Much like a plant’s growth, a person’s healing cannot be rushed. I believe that memories arise when there is something to learn from them.

ET: How can you help people to heal from their past?

CW: I provide individual and couples therapy. I also facilitate small therapy groups of all women or all men. People come to the groups because they have identified themselves as having been sexually abused as children.

I provide two different types of groups for survivors. One is focused on identifying and integrating healthy coping skills as many survivors do not have these in place as part of their everyday behaviors.

The second group focuses on exploring and expressing the memories of abuse in a supportive and nurturing environment with the focus on healing from the abuse. I utilize many different kinds of psychotherapeutic modalities in my work, such as art therapy, writing, guided visualization, and cognitive-behavioral techniques.

I also use Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing with individuals, which has been shown to be an effective treatment for those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

ET: Can you list the benefits of group work and of individual therapy?

CW: Group work can be very helpful in breaking the isolation that some survivors of childhood sexual abuse experience. To be in a room and listen to others who have had similar experiences can be a great relief.

In my experience, adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse often feel shame and guilt regarding what happened to them. To know that there are others can be quite healing. To be able to speak of what happened in a supportive and nurturing environment can be a corrective experience to those who received little or no support. Simply to speak of what occurred serves to break the “conspiracy of silence” that is common with survivors.

Individual therapy is very important, because it can provide a way in which personal issues can be addressed in much more depth than in group work. I recommend that people obtain individual therapy while they are in my groups, as the group work is unable to address in depth issues that arise for people while they are in my groups.

ET: Do you consider this area of healing as your life’s work?

CW: After working as a teacher’s assistant in an elementary school, a bookkeeper, and a massage therapist, I returned to school in 1995 to obtain my master’s degree, in large part to be able to do healing work with adults who were sexually abused as children. I feel as though this work chose me, rather than I chose it. I see the wounds in people and feel a need to help. I feel honored to do this work, to watch people heal, and to be part of this process.

ET: Do you help clients in other areas?

CW: Yes. Prior to opening my private practice in San Jose, I worked in the Santa Clara County Mental Health Department, both inpatient and outpatient, for nine years. My background includes working with adults and their families regarding bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia.

In addition to providing treatment for adults sexually abused as children, I also provide individual therapy for those who have experienced other kinds of emotional trauma, such as that resulting from automobile accidents, natural disasters such as tsunamis or man-made disasters such as 9/11.

ET: Is there any other relevant experience you’d like to share?

CW: Yes. I was trained in premarital therapy and child custody mediation at San Jose State University’s Child and Family Clinic in association with Santa Clara County Superior Court. For four years, I was a rehabilitation counselor at the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit at Valley Medical Center. For five years, I worked as a marriage and family therapist with the Adult Services Division of Santa Clara County Mental Health Department.

In addition, for four years, I facilitated therapy groups for women who had been sexually abused as children at Survivors Healing Center in Santa Cruz. In 1997, I graduated from San Jose State University with a master’s degree in clinical psychology. In 1999, I obtained my Marriage and Family Therapy license after completing 3,000 hours of experience and passing two examinations.

ET: Are you available for speaking engagements?

CW: I am available to consult with health care providers, either on an individual basis or in small groups. Please contact me at (408) 920-1788.

Crystal C. West is a licensed marriage and family therapist in San Jose who recently opened her private practice at 3880 South Bascom Ave., Suite 212, San Jose, Calif., 95124. She welcomes new clients and referrals or inquiries from health care providers. Please contact her at (408) 920-1788. Weekday and evening hours are available.