Counseling interventions for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Abstract

The author explored the lived experience of male survivors of childhood sexual abuse and their female partners. The author also provided professional counselors and other mental health professionals with appropriate counseling interventions that can be used alongside existing counseling theories (e.g. family systems theories, trauma models, cognitive behavioral, etc.). The first chapter introduced the dissertation, provided a rationale for the study of male survivors and their partners in the form of a call to action, offered some relevant background information on the topic such as trauma rates, and described the method of inquiry, theoretical lens and structure of the manuscript. The second chapter included a literature review and a case vignette that described how to use Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) with male survivors of childhood sexual abuse and their partners. The third chapter included a literature review and a qualitative study that explored the resilience strategies of male survivors of childhood sexual abuse and their partners by using the participants’ words to demonstrate important themes from their lived experiences. The researcher presented and discussed suggestions for future research and implications for practice. The fourth chapter concluded the study with a personal reflection of the research process and lessons learned by the primary researcher. The main theoretical lens used in this study was Relational-Cultural Theory (Miller, 1976; Jordan, 2009). Other theories used in this study included Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (Greenberg & Johnson, 1988; Johnson, 2004), Family Systems Theory (Bertalanffy, 1956; Bowen, 1978; Minuchin, 1974), Attachment Theory (Bowlby, 1969, 1988), Ambiguous Loss Theory (Boss, 2006, 2007, 2010), Judith Herman’s trauma model (Herman, 1992), and Briere’s (2004) self trauma model.