Counseling

In the short term, it’s not unusual for a child to develop some post-traumatic stress reactions that will respond to treatment. Others—particularly those who have suffered multiple traumas and received little parental support—may develop post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Their ability to trust adults to take care of them may also be jeopardized. Sadly, when children do not disclose sexual abuse and/or do not receive effective counseling, they can suffer difficulties long into the future. Children who have the support of an understanding caregiver and effective treatment can recover without long-term effects.

There are three categories of symptoms that occur with post-traumatic stress reactions:

Hyperarousal means that the child is nervous and jumpy, has a heightened startle response, and may react more strongly to any anxiety-producing situation. 

Re-experiencing means that the child may keep seeing mental images related to the abuse, or relive some aspects of the experience, either while awake or during sleep in the form of nightmares. A child may have other sleep disturbances such as trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Younger children may have generalized fears or nightmares about other scary things such as monsters chasing them. With an older child, the nightmares are more likely to be directly related to the trauma. Reexperiencing also includes reactions to traumatic reminders: any thing, person, event, sight, smell or sound connected to the abuse. 

Avoidance means that a child avoids exposure to reminders of the trauma and often tries to avoid thinking about the abuse altogether. 

Sexual abuse often results in difficult thoughts, feelings, questions, and behaviors in kids. The investigative component can also have a significant emotional impact. It’s helpful for the parent and child to have support from a mental health professional and assistance in understanding the abuse and reactions to it. In many cases, a child may not need lengthy, intensive therapy, but it’s helpful for the child and parent to sit down with a trained professional and talk through what has happened and to make sure the child understands and feels safe talking about his or her feelings. Children may blame themselves or hold other unrealistic ideas or beliefs about the abuse (cognitive distortions) that need to be corrected. Parents may also benefit from talking to a professional who can assist them in overcoming the distress naturally associated with discovering that their child has been sexually abused. With professional support, many children and parents effectively recover and may feel stronger and closer as a family in the aftermath of a traumatic experience.

No, counseling is a place for your child to be able to process their experience and find ways to alleviate their symptoms through the different models our clinicians utilize. The benefit of counseling at a CAC is that clinicians will be familiar with the case and dynamics, therefore your child will not need to repeat their experience. Clinicians use gradual exposure in combination with coping and regulation tools to ease emotional distress and responses to triggers your child may have. 

Our therapists use an individualized approach in client sessions which means treatments used are determined by what is the best fit for your child. If a child finds art helpful in coping and expression, therapists can use our art therapy room to lean into your child's interest. If your child would benefit from sensory regulation and movement, we have our SMART room we can meet in. (See our "previous our space" section for more information on our spaces!) We know that there is no one treatment that works for everyone, so our therapists work in collaboration with you to assess the best approach for your child to have a space to heal from their experiences.