Creative Interventions for Preparing and Disclosing Trauma Narratives in Group Therapy for Child Sexual Abuse

Intervention Strategies for Promoting Recovery and Healing from Child Sexual Abuse

“…Trauma informed art therapy is effective for children who have experienced early relational trauma, such as intrafamilial sexual abuse, which may result in symptoms of PTSD [19]. Art therapy interventions can provide a voice and sense of self-agency to CSA survivors as they creatively and abstractly represent their traumatic experiences and use metaphors and visual symbols to describe their sexual abuse [20]. Through visual arts, youth who have been sexually abused can express overwhelming emotions without requiring words [21].…”

“…With child sexual abuse, it is especially important to explore the non-verbal memories that recall fragmented sensory and emotional experiences of the trauma [24]. Art therapy is a visual and sensory modality that assists youth who have been sexually abused with accessing traumatic material stored in implicit memory, which is body-based form of memory that is distinct from explicit, narrative and conscious memory [20]. Art therapy may provide a bridge between implicit and explicit memory that allows children who have experienced CSA to express feelings and memories that are not accessible by verbal means [23].…”

“…Various types of abstract and representational art can be created in group and shared with group members in order to increase catharsis and connection/cohesion between group members. For example, group members may draw characters (animals, superheroes, objects) that represent themselves, their perpetrators and protective caregivers and then be asked to tell detailed stories to the group about these characters [20]. In this group art activity, a child may identify as an animal living in their safe place, until a predator presents and harms the animal (i.e., a fox attacking a rabbit, a bee stinging a kitten).…”

“…In this group art activity, a child may identify as an animal living in their safe place, until a predator presents and harms the animal (i.e., a fox attacking a rabbit, a bee stinging a kitten). Allowing the child to identify with the animal provides distance and separation from the event so as to prevent the children from being retraumatized or overwhelmed by trigger reminders [20]. An eight session art therapy group for latency age girls who had been sexually abused focused on four themes: establishing group cohesion and fostering trust, exploring feelings associated with the abuse, sexual behavior and the prevention of revictimization and termination of the group [30].…”

Experiences of Professionals Ensuring the Protection of Children from Violence

“…If necessary, the child's safety must be ensured by specialists of relevant institutions. Shuman et al (2020) emphasise that the state has a significant responsibility in protecting children from domestic violence. Researchers say that choosing an individual child protection plan often focuses on helping the family, but not on helping an individual child.…”