What is child sexual abuse?

Everyone has trauma; ranging from a BIG "T" trauma to little "t" trauma. 

As a psychologist who specializes in trauma in mental health, my job is to bring an end to the pain and suffering that patients feel. This should not span over months and years. You have been carrying it around with you for years. The treatment does not have to last for years though. It can be done in as little as 10 day intensive treatment, or over 12 - 24 weekly sessions. 

In the next few weeks, I will be writing a series of articles on trauma and how trauma treatment happens in the sessions. My writing will be supported with research, so you can see the basis of my reasoning, and clinical intervention. I am writing these as it is important for the general public to have access to this information, and for people to have the awareness about trauma.

I will be writing in bite sizes, so you can digest it. 

I will demonstrate the basis for treatment for a client diagnosed with MDD (major depressive disorder) and GAD (generalized anxiety disorder), and treated with EMDR (eye movement desensitization reprocessing).  I will begin by discussing the different theories regarding how her adverse experiences contributed to her symptoms and discuss the prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA).

In the following weeks, I will be discussing the following;
1. thorough research of CSA, taking into account the neurobiology, and interpersonal and intrapersonal impacts.
2. discussing the psychopathology.
3. how the impact of CSA contributed to depression and anxiety
4. explain my diagnosis of MDD and GAD, rather than of PTSD.  
5. present information on EMDR treatment,
6. explaining the theory around EMDR in trauma processing
7. why I chose the modified protocol application for this clincial case
8. discuss the research supporting the use of EMDR treatment with CSA clients diagnosed with co-morbid MDD and GAD.

PART 1

Child Sexual Abuse
The World Health Organization (WHO) defined CSA as “the involvement of a child or an adolescent in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend and is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child or adolescent is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent, or that violates the laws or social taboos of society (WHO, 2017, pg vii)."

CSA includes incest by a family member or close relative (WHO, 2017).  Incest involves the perpetrator’s intent to satisfy personal needs, and includes seeking power over the child (WHO, 2017).  Adolescents may also experience sexual abuse at the hands of their peers, including in the context of dating or intimate relationships (WHO, 2017).

The WHO (2017) distinguished three types of sexual abuse;
The first, “non-contact sexual abuse” which includes threats, verbal sexual harassment, sexual solicitation, indecent exposure, and exposing a child to pornography.
The second, “contact sexual abuse,” involves sexual intercourse, sexual assault, and rape (WHO, 2017).
The third, is also known as “contact sexual abuse,” however, this definition excludes sexual intercourse, and involves acts such as inappropriate touching, fondling, and kissing (WHO, 2017).  A majority of CSA cases involve manipulation, such as psychological, emotional or material abuses (WHO, 2017).

Now that you know the definition, and the types of CSA, in my next blog post, I will be writing about why the perpetrators commit such an act.