Kirjahaku

Race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, migration status, religion and many other cultural factors play an important role in recovery from a traumatic event. However, most conventional attempts to help people recover from trauma do not anticipate or address these factors. Here, a psychologist describes how to recognize the cultural issues that need to be considered for healing. She offers vignettes illustrating these issues, as well as activities for traumatized people to regain their sense of self-esteem, safety, strength and calm.

Race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, migration status, religion, and numerous other cultural factors play important roles in recovery from traumatic events. Survivors of abuse, dislocation, disease, racism and other forms of trauma, however, are often treated only as individuals rather than as people with diverse beliefs and cultural affiliations. Thema Bryant-Davis examines the cultural issues that health-care professionals need to consider in caring for trauma survivors. She gives specific examples drawn in part from her own work as a clinician, and she describes activities that can help trauma victims not only survive, but also thrive and grow.

Victims of sexual assault experience their trauma in different ways, and often one path to recovery and healing is right for one person, but not right for another. While there are some general mental health effects of sexual violence, this book outlines and describes the impact of particular types of sexual violation. Whether the survivor has experienced childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault during adulthood, marital rape, sexual harassment, sex trafficking, or sexual violence within the military, they will find aspects of her experience in these pages. Once survivors understand the ways in which they have been affected, they are introduced to various pathways to surviving sexual violence and moving forward. The chapters provide case examples and specific activities which give a fuller description of the ways survivors can make use of the particular approaches, which include mind-body practices, counseling, group therapies, self-defense training, and others. Anyone who has been a victim of sexual violence, or knows and cares about someone who has, will find relief in these pages, which offer practical approaches to finding balance and healing.