Recovery From Child Sexual Abuse

Welcome to “Recovery from child sexual abuse”, which is also referred to as “csa” for short. I’ve emphasised the word “recovery”, to show that it is indeed possible to recover and heal, even from the worst experiences.
Whether you are a survivor, a friend or family member, or a therapist who works with traumatised people, there will be something here for you.
You are also welcome if you are the victim of a sexual or other assault which happened when you were an adult. Or if you simply looking for information, for example about the effects of trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder, known as “PTSD”, for short.

I was sexually abused by members of my family and by many other people, mostly men, during the first twenty years of my life. I was left with complex ptsd, with lots of symptoms, including flashbacks, anxiety, depression, heightened startle reflex and mis-use of alcohol.
Over the past forty years or so, I have been in therapy at different points and for different lengths of time, with ten different practitioners, three of which were useless, seven of which were brilliant.

On this site, you will find my story, together with some of my thoughts and thinking about trauma, abuse, therapy and recovery. There are also some resources and some strategies from being in therapy that I’ve found helpful, or not.

You can read comments from other people who have visited the site here and you can send me your own comment by filling in the form on the Contact us page.

Some of the words, whether you read or listen to them, are very emotive. This is perhaps particularly true of some of the poems. If you feel triggered/overwhelmed, take some deep breaths, focusing particularly on the out-breath. The out-breath will help to calm you. Take some time out. Above all, be kind to yourself and know that there is hope for recovery.