This seminar looks at the social construction of CSA of males and its range of clinical implications. It emphasises how we can respond to the specific needs of male survivors of CSA within a trauma-informed framework – which includes the use of power and its impact on self-identities. Specifically, we consider:
- What explains the fears in men that CSA will determine their sexual orientation – what does this imply for their capacity to have healthy sexual relationships
- How do we comprehend reporting of sexual difficulties by survivors of CSA – including performance anxieties, erectile problems, compulsive sexual behaviour as well as difficulties with intimacy and the recurring need to ‘prove’ their masculinity
- The social construction of the problem of male victims of CSA and its clinical implications
- Overcoming difficulties around help-seeking and disclosure
- Understanding the confusion with regards to sexual orientation and intimacy; sense of lost power, control and confidence in manhood
- How trauma-informed practice can enable male survivors of CSA to recover and heal
About the speaker
Christiane Sanderson BSc, MSc. is a senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Roehampton, of London with 26 years of experience working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse and sexual violence. She has delivered consultancy, continuous professional development and professional training for parents, teachers, social workers, nurses, therapists, counsellors, solicitors, the NSPCC, the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Committee, the Methodist Church, the Metropolitan Police Service, SOLACE, the Refugee Council, Birmingham City Council Youth Offending Team, and HMP Bronzefield.
She is the author of Counselling Skills for Working with Shame, Counselling Skills for Working with Trauma: Healing from Child Sexual Abuse, Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse, Counselling Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, 3rd edition, Counselling Survivors of Domestic Abuse, The Seduction of Children: Empowering Parents and Teachers to Protect Children from Child Sexual Abuse, and Introduction to Counselling Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma, all published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. She has also written The Warrior Within: A One in Four Handbook to Aid Recovery from Sexual Violence; The Spirit Within: A One in Four Handbook to Aid Recovery from Religious Sexual Abuse Across All Faiths and Responding to Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse: A pocket guide for professionals, partners, families and friends for the charity One in Four for whom she is a trustee.
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