The kind of treatment we need and how long the healing takes depends largely on how much damage the abuse caused us. Saperstein says that it's the child in us who was hurt. It is the adult who remembers. It allows us to experience being loved. Sexuality then becomes a choice of being touched.
Arousal becomes an experience of choice, rather than a response to aggression or internal betrayal.
Arousal becomes centered in our own place of control rather than outside of ourselves. Although these goals were originally intended for incest survivors, we've adapted them to apply to all forms of sexual abuse. While some of the goals may not appear to relate directly to sexual healing, each of them can positively affect the development and maintenance of healthy, sexual-affectional relationships. Assist you to commit to the treatment process by offering hope and by encouraging you to envision a picture in which your actions can lead to realistic life changes. Help you develop a supportive, theraputic relationship with your therapist.