"But what about me?" "Is it possible to go one day without dealing with the survivor's issues?" "Will we ever make love again?" "Will the survivor love me in the end?" "How do I know if I should throw in the towel?" Based on in-depth interviews and her workshops for partners across the country, Laura Davis offers practical advice and encouragement to all partners—girlfriends, boyfriends, spouses, and lovers—trying to support the survivors in their lives while tending to their own needs along the way. She shows couples how to deepen compassion, improve communication, and develop an understanding of healing as a shared activity. Addressing partners' most important questions, Allies in Healing covers: The Basics—answers common questions about sexual abuse. Allies in Healing—introduces key concepts of working and growing together. My Needs and Feelings—teaches partners to recognize, value, and express their own needs. Dealing with Crisis—includes strategies for handling suicidal feelings, regression, and hopelessness. Intimacy and Communication—offers practical advice on dealing with distancing, control, trust, and fighting. Sex—provides guidelines for coping with flashbacks, lack of desire, differences in sexual needs, and frustration. Family lssues—suggests a range of ideas for interacting with the survivor's family. Partners' Stories—explores the struggles, triumphs, and courage of eight partners.

This book is for the silent sufferers -- the millions of men worldwide who are helping female partners recover from the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. What About Me? is the end result of the painful and trying times journalist Grant Cameron encountered while helping his wife Liz deal with her abusive past. What About Me? will help men understand the issues surrounding childhood sexual abuse and prepare them for the rocky journey through the healing process with a survivor. It will help them understand why women who are healing say and do certain things. It will also give them a better understanding of their own actions and feelings.

Go beyond surviving to reclaim your sexual self. If you have experienced sexual abuse, assault, harassment, or rape, you may feel disconnected from your sexual self—even if you’ve overcome the initial trauma of your experience. You are a survivor; but surviving is just the beginning. This book explores what comes next. Written by a psychotherapist and grounded in cutting-edge research, Reclaiming Pleasure picks up where other sexual trauma recovery books leave off. It offers practical tools to help you cultivate a sense of safety, security and trust in order to reclaim the vitality, pleasure and great sex you deserve. The book will also serve as your compass on a journey toward the rediscovery of desire, letting you explore what you want from others and for yourself. This groundbreaking book will help you: Understand the lasting mental, physical, sexual, and relational impacts of sexual trauma Move beyond feelings of shame Reclaim pleasure and reignite passion in your life Surviving is merely the first step in the process of recovery from sexual trauma. With this sex-positive and empowering guide, you are invited to take your recovery to the next level. You’ll feel emboldened by the desire for better sex, healthier relationships, and a more connected, pleasurable life.

Allies & Demons combines the ancient healing and wisdom traditions of Shamanism and Buddhist philosophy with the best of Western psychology to create a powerful medicine for the mind, body and spirit.The inner journeys of Allies & Demons use guided imagery, hypnotherapy and body-based mindfulness to connect with the powerful allies of nature, loving ancestors, the Highest Self and the God or Goddess of your own understanding. These grounded tools provide the form and language we need to find, face and heal our inner demons. Our demons are the fears, depression, anxiety and unresolved emotional wounds that are the roots of our pain and dysfunction.Once something finds form in our active imagination, we can work with it directly in powerful ways that dramatically improve and transform our relationship with ourselves, with others and with the world. When we resolve our underlying emotional and spiritual problems - the inner demons that cause our suffering unravel and dissolve.Connected with spiritual allies and free of our inner demons, we can express our authentic self in the world and discover the joy and fulfillment that are our birthright.Renee LaVallee McKenna, MA, CCH, is a therapist, healer and artist living in San Francisco.

Considered a classic in its field, this comprehensive guide will help survivors of sexual abuse improve their relationships and discover the joys of sexual intimacy. Wendy Maltz takes survivors step-by-step through the recovery process using groundbreaking exercises and techniques. Based on the author's clinical work, interviews, and workshops, this guide is filled with first-person accounts of women and men at every stage of sexual healing. This compassionate resource helps survivors to: Identify the sexual effects of sexual abuse Eliminate negative sexual behavior and resolve specific problems Gain control over upsetting automatic reactions to touch and sex Develop a healthy sexual self-concept

Based on the experiences of hundreds of child abuse survivors, The Courage to Heal profiles victims who share the challenges and triumphs of their personal healing processes. Inspiring and comprehensive, it offers mental, emotional and physical support to all people who are in the process of rebuilding their lives. The Courage to Heal offers hope, encouragement and practical advice to every woman who was sexually abused as a child and answers some vital questions, including: -How do I know if I was sexually abused? -Where does the decision to heal start? -How can I break the silence and who will listen? -How can I re-build my self-esteem, intimacy and capacity to love? -What therapy, support groups, self-help programmes or organisations are available?

In this groundbreaking companion to The Courage to Heal, Laura Davis offers an inspiring, in-depth workbook that speaks to all women and men healing from the effects of child sexual abuse. The combination of checklists, writing and art Projects, open-ended questions and activities expertly guides the survivor through the healing process. Survival Skills -- Teaches survivors to create a safe, supportive environment, ask for help, deal with crisis periods, and choose therapy. Aspects Of Healing -- Focuses on the healing process: gaining a capacity for hope, breaking silence, letting go of shame, turning anger into action, planning a confrontation, preparing for family contact, and affirming personal progress. Guidelines For Healing Sexually -- Redefines the concept of "safe sex" and establishes healthy ground rules for sexual contact.

This book should be an integral part of any complete treatment program for sexual abuse survivors and their loved ones. Partners, relatives, and friends of sexual abuse survivors, sexual abuse survivors, health professionals, and educators, will find this book of value. Finally, a book designed with unique issues of partners in mind!

Introduces the reaader to classical shamanic thought as well as techniques and methods to connect with our spirit guides and allies. From the spirit animals you encounter on a journey to the lower world to the angelic guides and teachers you meet in the upper world, you will learn how to interpret their messages for your on-going health and well-being.