How do I go about choosing a therapist or therapy model?

That is a good question. One though, that you may find many different opinions on, depending on who you are talking too. There have been multiple studies over the years trying to determine what is the most successful type of counseling modality. Many studies have shown that it is not the modality or type of counseling that makes the most difference-but instead the client-therapist relationship.

The success of therapy in fact has many factors; your relationship with the counselor, the counselors knowledge, your readiness to apply what you are learning, and much more.

Some of the most commone types of counseling you will see for survivors of sexual abuse are:

1.Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy :  This model emphasizes the interdependence of thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. It involves carefully and gradually “exposing” yourself to thoughts, feelings, and situations that remind you of the trauma. It also involves identifying upsetting thoughts about the traumatic event–particularly thoughts that are distorted and irrational—and replacing them with more balanced picture. Other examples of this type of treatment would be teaching relaxation methods, teaching clients to identify and express feelings, teaching self soothing activites.

2. Cognitive Processing Therapy: this is brief and structured . It consists of exposure to the traumatic memories and then learning how to restructure these memories.

4. EMDR-Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: this incorporates elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy with eye movements or other forms of rhythmic stimulation. While thinking of or talking about memories, a patient will focus on other stimuli like eye movements, hand taps, and sounds. This theory is based on the idea that when a traumatic experience occurs, it  overwhelms normal neurological coping mechanisms. The memory is therefore not adequately processed. The goal of EMDR therapy is to process these distressing memories, reducing their lingering effects.

How do you go about choosing a therapist? Dr. Carlfred Broderick says that after your first session you should ask yourself :

• Does the therapist seem to understand and care how I feel?
•  Does he or she see clearly what is going on?
• Do this person’s ideas make common sense, or do they seem strange, dumb, or outrageous?

He suggests that if the answers to these questions are not satisfactory, you probably do not trust the therapist and should look for another.

*Child sexual abuse: A critical review of intervention and treatment modalities RachelLev-Wieselwww.sciencedirect.com

*Child Physcial and Sexual guidelines for Treatment, Jan 2003 National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center. Medical University of South Carolina.

*I have a Questions Val MacMurray Ensign Jan 1983