A narrative exploration of the sense of self of women recovering from childhood sexual abuse

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Counselling Psychology Quarterly

Publication Date

6-1-2011

Abstract

Objectives: To explore how the sense of self evolves through the recovery process after intensive therapy that focuses on issues pertaining to childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Design: A retrospective qualitative study. Method: Four women with CSA experiences, who completed a local sexual abuse intervention group programme, participated in the study. They were interviewed using a narrative life story approach and a narrative analysis was conducted on the data. Results: Participants had a 'traumatised self' characterised by shame and guilt, leading to self-perceptions of being insignificant and undeserving. After intervention, an overall positive sense of self resulted characterised by an increased sense of self-awareness, self-acceptance and self-confidence. This was enhanced by being able to externalise their abuse and to shift the responsibility of the abuse from the abused to the abuser. Self-control was gained through the use of effective coping strategies. Being part of a group with similar experiences was found to enhance feelings of solidarity and commonality and instilled a sense of optimism about the future. Conclusions: After therapy, the concept of sense of self evolved from a traumatised self to a more enduring positive sense of self. The participants made self-improvements, connections with people and were able to live autonomous lives. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

ISSN

0951-5070

Publisher

Informa UK Limited

Volume

24

Issue

2

First Page

101

Last Page

113

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Childhood sexual abuse, Narrative, Self, Trauma

Scopus ID

79960875003

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

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