The Healing Sexual Trauma Workbook by Erika Shershun draws on somatic psychotherapy to help survivors of sexual assault/abuse work through their trauma and find healing. The author herself is a sexual assault survivor. The book isn’t specifically oriented towards either isolated traumatic incidents or complex trauma, but seems like it could speak to both. It’s …
Liar Liar by Laurie Katz tells her story of being raped in her first year of college, and the school’s (mis)handling of the matter. It’s part of the Inspirational series by Trigger Publishing, a mental health publisher. The book opens with the night she was raped. Afterwards, contrary to society’s expectations that someone go to …
I heard recently that Daisy Coleman, who was in the 2016 documentary Audrie & Daisy, had died by suicide. I had first watched the film a couple of years ago, but I thought I’d watch it again and write a post about it in honour of Daisy. Rape culture was a problem then, and it’s …
A few years ago I was thinking about applying for a nursing job with a sexual assault support team, so I decided to learn more about the body’s biological fight/flight/freeze response to trauma. What I found out was really interesting, so I thought I’d share. The amygdala’s response The amygdala is a primitive part of the …
The Neurobiology of Traumatic Fight/Flight/Freeze Read More »
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is victim blaming. Victim blaming involves placing the responsibility for a violent or otherwise harmful act either entirely or partially on the victim of that act. It arises from distorted beliefs regarding victims, perpetrators, and the harmful acts …
We’re all familiar, at least to some extent, with the sex trade. If nothing else, you may have seen the movie Pretty Woman. The level of desperation in the survival sex trade, though, is galaxies away from what you see in Pretty Woman. The vulnerable I used to work at a community mental health team …
The Survival Sex Trade: This Is Definitely Not Pretty Woman Read More »
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is the DARVO response to sexual assault allegations. DARVO is an acronym to describe a pattern of responses that sexual offenders may display when faced with accountability for their actions. Before getting into what DARVO stands for, I’ll …
What Is… a DARVO Response to Sexual Assault Allegations Read More »
As U.S. states like Alabama, Kentucky, and Georgia are passing laws restricting abortion and gearing up to challenge the Roe v. Wade decision in the U.S. Supreme Court, I look on from north of the border with dismay and disgust. I wouldn’t want to live in a country where limited reproductive rights could mean that …
Abortion & Reproductive Rights: My Body Is My Own Read More »
When it comes to sexual interactions, it seems like the notion of consent should be pretty simple. Yes means yes, no means no, easy peasy, right? Except obviously, it’s not that simple for a disturbingly large number of people. That begs the question, how have we gotten it so wrong as a society that this …
Why Don’t More People Understand Sexual Consent? Read More »
