I have been sexually abused and I keep hearing people say that I need to get counseling. But I don’t see how counseling is going to help. It can’t make the things that happen to me untrue; counseling can’t unwrite history. Thinking about what happened makes life worse; I can’t imagine how talking about it to a stranger would feel. I want things to be better and would do counseling if I thought it would help. Can you tell me what I could expect and how counseling might benefit me?
Resources: Here are several resources that can be useful in preparing for of following up with the conversation discussed in this VLOG post.
- On the Threshold of Hope by Diane Langberg – An excellent resource that provides both a biblically-based and clinically-informed approach based upon her 20+ years of experience counseling survivors of sexual abuse.
- Seminar (video-based) on “Hope & Restoration After Sexual Abuse.”
- A link to the videos from this seminar here if you are unable attend either of the live events.
- Sexual Abuse: Beauty from Ashes – A booklet by Bob Kellemen if you want to start by reading something more brief than Diane’s book.
- Confronting My Abuser – An article by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb which answers five common questions for those deciding if this is a wise choice for them.
- 8 Ways to Protect Your Children from Sexual Abuse a blog by Lindsey Holcomb.
- A collection of other resources on sexual abuse can be found at www.summitrdu.com/abuse.
To review the other questions addressed in this VLOG series click here.
Note: The VLOG (video-blog) Q&A is a regular series on my blog. If you would like to submit a question, it can be e-mailed to Summit’s admin over counseling at counseling@summitrdu.com (please note this is an administrative account; no individual or family counsel is provided through e-mail). Please limit your questions to 3-7 sentences. This is not a forum for to request or receive counseling. No responses will be sent to questions other than those selected for a video response.
If this post was beneficial for you, then considering reading other blogs from my “Favorite Posts on Sexual Abuse” post which address other facets of this subject.