sexual abuse therapy?

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My psychiatrist just referred me to a sexual abuse therapist to help me deal with trauma. 7 years later and I'm finally facing it.

I just don't know what to expect from it. I've been in therapy for 5 years for other reasons, and those things haven't been very hard to talk about. This though.. this is hard for me to talk about with a lot of people, especially in depth, dealing with it..

What can I expect from this?

Damn, to do something like that to a child... such a heinous crime, even more so than murder in my opinion. My heart goes out to you.

And to speak about in front of someone, face to face, that would be unimaginably stress-inducing. All I can say is that you will probably feel better after you vent to someone about it, but as to how to make that an easier process I'm not exactly sure, how comfortable you will be talking about it depends entirely on the personality of the therapist.

Anyways, I hope that your future will be free from cruelty such as this, and that you may grow to live a happy life and forget about this terrible aspect of your past.

Do keep in mind that sexual abuse isn't always done by a full grown adult.

Teens can do it too, even children around 10-11. In my case, I was 9-10 and the boy was a couple years older than me. He psychologically abused me, manipulated me into doing things to him, convinced me I couldn't tell anyone, made me watch porn with him, kept touching me and trying to get me to do things, after I kept saying no, and manipulated me over time into doing whatever he wanted, treating me with kindess unless I didn't do what he wanted.

Children can be just as horrible as adults, and it can't always just be blamed on curiosity either. It's just as wrong, and just as scarring.

Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed... still, as you say, scarring nonetheless.

remember that this therapist is a specialist and has a lot of experience working with people who have trouble talking about their traumas. you can expect them to help you feel safe and comfortable, and not push you too much all at once.

if you have PTSD or C-PTSD (or even if not) you can likely expect a specialized treatment plan for that, something like a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy. if so, your therapist will work with you on your personalized plan and you will know exactly what is going on

they might have you try writing it instead of saying it as well, as often people find writing easier than saying it out loud, especially at first.

they might give you exercises to do at home, like journaling.

it will probably be a lot like your regular therapy, just focused specifically on this issue.

anyways, i hope the therapy is helpful for you, and feel free to pm me if you want to talk about anything. i am also a CSA survivor.

My psychiatrist told me that I display symptoms of trauma and being traumatized, but she didn't specifically say if I had PTSD / C-PTSD. If I'm traumatized, does that automatically mean I have PTSD? I mean I think I have it anyway, but I just don't know because she didn't say.

no it doesn't always mean that, but it could.

Dissociative identity disorder perhaps?

https://www.havoca.org/survivors/dissoc ... sociation/

a dissociative disorder is certainly possible, but i think that is up to OP's SA therapist to consider, and it's not really helpful to speculate on it now. whatever they need to be helped with, it will be uncovered.

It may help?if the OP,looks up dissociative disorder and see if they relate,with the symptoms associated.
But all the same,yes,it boils down to the OP's SA therapist to consider.

The reason i threw it out there,as i was seeing a girl last year,who was sexually molested by her uncle as a 6yr old,over a period of a few years.

She had dissociative disorder,it was a mechanism,from shutting out the past.

Just saying....

I'm diagnosed with depersonalization/der alization disorder, but I have been thinking very much that I have DID.