Sexual Trauma: Symptoms, Effects, & Treatments

Sexual trauma occurs when someone experiences sexual actions or behaviors without their consent, causing emotional or psychological harm. While not everyone responds to sexual trauma in the same way, it can often lead to extreme anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, insomnia, and dissociation. Some people may recover relatively quickly, but many others develop post-traumatic stress disorder, with symptoms that can persist for months or even years.

To cope with the long-term pain of sexual trauma, a person may adopt unhealthy coping mechanisms like substance abuse or self-harm. They may also struggle with intimacy in relationships and isolate themselves from their loved ones. However, it’s important to know that with proper treatment, healing is possible. Individuals who have experienced sexual trauma can recover fully and go on to have fulfilling intimate relationships.

How to Heal From Sexual Trauma

Healing from sexual trauma can be a complex and vulnerable journey. Recovery is not a one-size-fits-all strategy with a defined timeline for how “long” healing from sexual trauma takes. That said, seeking support from others, prioritizing self-care, and seeking professional guidance can make a tremendous difference in how you feel.

Here are some tips and worksheets for healing from sexual trauma:

• Develop a plan to stay safe: The first step to healing is ensuring that no further harm can happen to you. Identify safe people and spaces where you feel most secure. You can also consider contacting local or community organizations for support. Regardless of where you find shelter, ensure you feel comfortable and have adequate resources to protect yourself.
• Inform authorities when necessary: Some people find reporting the abuse helps facilitate their healing process. Consider consulting a therapist or attorney for the next steps.
• Speak to a therapist, counselor, and/or psychiatrist: A therapist can help you to process the trauma and develop coping skills for PTSD symptoms. If your symptoms are severe, you may want to find a psychiatrist to discuss medication options.
• Be prepared to do the work: A mental health professional can help guide you through recovery, but you must actively participate to achieve long-lasting success. Be consistent with your attendance to therapy and commitment to improving your well-being and coping skills.
• Limit substance use: Although you may want to use drugs or alcohol to cope, in the long run, it will only exacerbate the impact of the sexual trauma.
• Adopt self-care practices: The shame and self-loathing that many sexual trauma survivors feel can stop them from practicing self-care. Although you may not feel like you deserve to take care of yourself, push yourself to do activities that make you feel good about yourself. Over time, the self-loathing and guilt will decrease, and you will feel more deserving.
• Practice self-compassion: Self-compassion means giving yourself grace and kindness. Although you may be struggling to love yourself right now, try to treat yourself as you would a friend you love. The sell-love will develop with time.
• Set boundaries: When a person experiences sexual trauma, their boundaries are not respected. It is important to teach yourself that you can say no and set boundaries with others. Honor what gives you peace. Don’t feel obligated to “give” when depleted or resentful.
• Consider mindfulness: Many individuals cope with sexual trauma by dissociating because their bodies do not feel safe. Learning to be in your body is a key part of healing. Meditation for PTSD, breathwork, and trauma-informed yoga can help you stop dissociating and re-learn that it is safe to be present in your body.
• Don’t rush the process: Healing often takes time. Sometimes, you may feel like you take three steps forward and two steps back. That said, you evolve with every new insight you integrate. Be patient and compassionate with yourself as you grow.
• Advocate for yourself and others: Activism can be an important part of your healing process. Using your voice to help others can validate your experience and facilitate post-traumatic growth.

6 Free Worksheets for Trauma Healing

This collection of worksheets provides practical tools and strategies for managing trauma symptoms.

 

 

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Treatment of Sexual Trauma

Although trauma can make a person hyper-independent, it is important to seek professional help. If your sexual trauma was recent, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. A doctor can provide insight and reassurance about physical health and help you contact law enforcement.

After speaking with a medical doctor, you should talk to a mental health professional. They can help you figure out what you need to heal and provide support to achieve your complete recovery.

Therapy for Sexual Trauma

Therapy can create a safe space for survivors to process their sexual trauma and challenge the negative and unhelpful thoughts that developed. The goal is to support you in minimizing your trauma-related symptoms and controlling how the traumatic event and triggers affect you. There are many different types of therapies for trauma, and it is important to find a treatment plan that works for you.

Here are some effective therapy options for healing from sexual trauma:

• Psychodynamic therapy: Psychodynamic therapy focuses on understanding how clients view the world and themselves to gain insight into promoting healing and recovery.
• Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT): TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment model for children and adolescents exposed to trauma. This approach involves both the child and their caregiver in treatment to develop skills to manage emotions and enhance future safety.
• Cognitive processing therapy (CPT): Cognitive processing therapy is a short-term approach that focuses on recovery by teaching clients to be their own therapists when future problems arise.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR for PTSD is a psychotherapy model that helps people heal from the symptoms and emotional distress of trauma through therapist-directed lateral eye movements, hand-tapping, audio stimulation, or various external stimuli.
• Accelerated resolution therapy (ART): ART is an evidence-based psychotherapy that promotes accelerated recovery by adapting how the brain stores traumatic memories and imagery. This model uses memory visualization techniques enhanced with horizontal eye movements and memory reconsolidation to help incorporate new information into existing memories.
• Group therapy: Connecting with others with similar experiences can provide a sense of community and validation that’s difficult to find elsewhere. Survivors of sexual trauma can greatly benefit from sharing their experiences in a safe and controlled environment that’s designed for emotional support.

Medication for Sexual Trauma

Sexual trauma treatment often includes medications to aid in managing PTSD symptoms. Prescribers often suggest SSRIs, as research has supported the efficacy of these medications in minimizing symptoms. Some studies have also observed limited benefits with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Sometimes, clinicians may use other classes of medication to treat troubling symptoms of PTSD, such as insomnia, flashbacks, and nightmares.

How to Find Professional Support

You are not alone in your experience. Support is available, and people are ready to offer understanding and empathy as you navigate your healing journey. Grow Therapy is an online therapist directory that offers many detailed filters, which makes finding a trauma-informed therapist who takes your insurance easy. If you prefer to see a therapist remotely, BetterHelp or Talkspace provides therapists who specialize in trauma-informed care.

If you want to explore medication, a primary care physician, psychiatrist, or psychiatric nurse practitioner can recommend pharmaceutical options. Alternatively, online psychiatry services such as Talkiatry or Brightside Health provide more comprehensive care for individuals who experience sexual trauma.

How Common Is Sexual Trauma?

Determining how common sexual trauma is is difficult because only 25% of sexual assault survivors report their experiences.⁴ Many sexual trauma survivors do not report because they fear for their safety or have feelings of shame, guilt, or even denial. Others cannot report because they are too young or have limitations impacting their communication.

Research shows an American is sexually assaulted every 73 seconds, with child victims every nine minutes.⁵ Additionally, roughly 20% of adults report being sexually abused as children, often by someone they knew or trusted.^{5, 6} Unfortunately, one in three women and one in four men will encounter sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes.⁷

How to Help a Child Who Experienced Sexual Trauma

It is terrifying to have your child disclose to you that they have experienced sexual abuse. Despite your inner turmoil, try to remain understanding and empathetic, offering unconditional support. A strong reaction can cause a child to stop talking or recant their disclosure.

Here are ways to keep a child safe after they disclose sexual abuse:⁸

• Believe their truth: You must listen and trust a child’s truth. Remember, they likely feel nervous about telling you, so be validating and thankful for their honesty.
• Seek medical attention: After an acute sexual assault, your child may sustain physical injuries. Seeking medical care can also help professionals gather needed evidence when building a court case.
• Support them in recovery: Don’t play detective. Instead, focus on being their support system. Let the professionals ask questions about what, when, and how. Personal involvement could jeopardize the investigation and discredit their testimony.
• Offer them a safe space to talk: Be a listening ear. Your child may need to “let it all out,” especially if they bottled their emotions for a long time after the event. Let them talk as much as they want to alleviate that burden.
• Consider more monitoring: You may need to reevaluate who your child spends with after a sexual abuse disclosure. Online activities may also require more scrutinization, particularly if your child has their own electronic devices.
• Aim to maintain a normal routine: Trauma can disrupt a child’s entire world. As much as possible, help cultivate a sense of familiarity and grounding by maintaining some sense of a familiar routine each day.
• Talk to a therapist: Your child may need their own private space to process what happened. If you’re not sure about the next step, consult with an experienced trauma-informed therapist who can provide you with potential therapy options, such as individual or family therapy.

Sexual Trauma Infographics