By the Concepción de León
I hear some people have trouble with therapy, that it can take years for them to open up to their doctors, let alone cry or break down. Not me. Day one, I told my therapist, Amy Bernstein, “I’ll just tell you everything, and we’ll go from there.”
I was assigned to her after revealing, during an initial interview to determine the appropriate therapist for my needs, that I’d been touched as a child. I hadn’t planned to bring it up at all, but I was asked directly, so I said, yes, you could say that. (At the time, I avoided the word “molested.”) And yes, it still crossed my mind.
To be honest, what happened had always felt like such a small thing. Many others have had it much worse; I counted myself lucky for only having been touched in subtle ways — a male relative digging his hands in my tiny skirt pockets to “feel around for change”; another bringing his hand to my crotch when he thought I was asleep. These were two of a handful of men who violated me.
Share This Post!
Adults With a History of Childhood Trauma Can Benefit From Recommended Depression Treatments, Contrary to Current Theory
The Lancet Psychiatry, neurosciencenews.com Patients with major depressive disorder who experienced trauma during childhood see symptom improvement following psychopharmacological intervention, psychotherapy, or a combination of both. The results of a new [...]
Post-Traumatic Growth: What You Need to Know
by Nicole McDermott Trauma—either as a one-time event or prolonged exposure— can cause a wide range of mental health issues including flashbacks, sleep disturbances, anxiety, grief and substance misuse. Healing from [...]
PTSD and Suicide After Natural Disasters
by César A. Alfonso, MD Everyone in Puerto Rico (PR) was affected by Hurricane Maria, which made landfall on September 20, 2017 as the largest scale natural disaster in the US [...]
Behavioral Health Conditions in Children and Youth Exposed to Natural Disasters
Supplemental Research Bulletin, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration This Supplemental Research Bulletin focuses on mental health and substance use (behavioral health) conditions in children and adolescents following exposure to [...]
Many Refugees Dealing with Trauma Face Obstacles to Mental Health Care
By Erica Zurek and Alander Rocha Refugees are arriving in the U.S. in greater numbers this year after resettlement counts reached a 40-year low under President Donald Trump. These new arrivals, like [...]
The Dangerous Impact of Racial Trauma on the Black Community
By Maia Niguel Hoskin Psychologists use the term trauma to describe an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster. Racial trauma, or race-based traumatic stress, [...]