Sexual Trauma Therapy

Is Past Sexual Trauma Compromising Your Quality Of Life?

Are you a survivor of sexual abuse, assault, or other trauma?

Is it difficult for you to become intimate and enjoy sex? 

As a result, do you worry that your relationship is suffering?

Maybe you experience physical, emotional, and mental challenges in the bedroom. Whether you’ve lost interest in sex or feel that physical limitations prevent you from performing, you probably feel frustrated or defeated. As much as you want to maintain intimacy with your partner, it’s hard to stay present and experience satisfaction during sex. 

Lacking physical connection, you may be worried about the future of your relationship. It’s possible that past trauma has caused you to withdraw, put up walls, or avoid sexual activity altogether. If this is the case, you may have developed co-occurring symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress alongside unresolved trauma. Feeling stuck, you don’t know how to break the pattern to feel safe and vulnerable again. 

But Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an effective way to gently heal past wounds. Survivors of sexual trauma can experience reconnection, restoration, and relief using EMDR in therapy. 

Sexual Trauma Casts A Painful Shadow On Our Society 

Unfortunately, sexual trauma is very common. Everything from childhood sexual abuse to sexual assault in adulthood affects a wide range of people across gender, race, and class lines. If you are struggling with symptoms of PTSD—including intrusive thoughts, hypervigilance, and lack of security—know that you are not alone, and that effective sexual trauma treatment exists. 

Yet, many survivors avoid discussing their experiences out of intense feelings of guilt and shame. There is a heavy stigma attached to sexual abuse and assault, and our culture often fails to protect victims. This can be especially true for survivors in male-dominated environments, such as the military or the church, wherein seeking outside help is often viewed as a sign of weakness. Not to mention, rates of sexual abuse and assault are disproportionately high in LGBTQ+ communities, in which perpetrators use sex as a means of violating and humiliating victims based on their sexual orientation. 

Wracked with shame, many survivors feel like they should be able to resolve the burden of sexual trauma on their own. Yet, when trauma is not addressed head-on, it gets stored and processed in unhealthy ways, resulting in anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and other trauma-related disorders. What initially seems like an unrelated set of symptoms often ends up being directly connected to a traumatic experience, which is why it’s important to work with a therapist who specializes in sexual trauma and abuse in counseling. 

By helping target core memories in sexual trauma treatment using EMDR, a therapist can facilitate healing on a deep and lasting level.

Sexual Trauma Treatment At EMDR Therapy Solutions

EMDR is a revolutionary therapy that allows clients to uncover blocked emotions, integrate distressing experiences, and resolve negative associations with any kind of traumatic event. To learn more about how this treatment works and why it’s effective for survivors of sexual trauma in particular, read our EMDR Therapy page. And note that intensive sessions are available to those who want concentrated, focused therapy sessions to address their sexual trauma. 

Treatment begins once you are matched with one of our therapists. Our sensitive, personalized approach to the intake session will help us understand presenting symptoms without having to discuss your trauma in detail. From there, we can use this information to establish treatment goals and answer any outstanding questions you have about EMDR.

Because our approach to therapy provides a unique opportunity to gently and nonverbally process sexual trauma, you’re likely to experience increased feelings of safety and vulnerability, healthier attachments, and more satisfying sex. EMDR allows you to resolve feelings of shame in a lasting way so that you can carry on with a normal, balanced, and fulfilling life. 

Our Practice Owner Is A Certified Clinical Sexologist

Within the southwestern therapeutic community, our practice owner Kelly Chisholm has been given the unofficial title of “EMDR Sexpert.” As a certified clinical sexologist, Kelly is greatly aware of the impact of sexual trauma and has worked with a wide range of survivors in therapy. Guiding clients and clinicians alike on how to incorporate EMDR into sexual trauma treatment, Kelly has seen firsthand the transformative effect that this modality has in drastically improving people’s lives and relationships. 

Though shame may be driving you to avoid or numb past sexual trauma, you deserve to feel more functional. In treatment for sexual trauma and abuse, you can overcome the shame once and for all to lead a happier, healthier existence.

Considering Sexual Trauma Treatment But Unsure If EMDR Therapy Solutions Is Right For You?

I’m afraid to discuss my sexual trauma or abuse in therapy.

We understand that your sexual trauma is a deeply personal subject, and as trauma-informed therapists, we are specially trained not to retraumatize our clients. Fortunately, because EMDR is a relatively nonverbal approach, you won’t have to discuss your sexual trauma at length in therapy. Instead, you will focus on a target image or belief, using side-to-side eye movements to neutralize the memory. Unlike conventional talk therapy, this process doesn’t require extensive discussion of the experience. 

I don’t have the time for counseling.

An improved quality of life is worth your time and resources. If you’re concerned about how much time you’ll spend in treatment for sexual trauma, consider all of the time your trauma has taken away in the form of relationship struggles, decreased productivity, and setbacks in your mental health. 

Keep in mind that we offer EMDR Intensives for clients who are interested in a more concentrated form of treatment; these sessions typically last over the span of a few days and are generally successful in resolving sexual trauma for good. 

I don’t want to spend money on therapy for sexual trauma. 

Your healing is worth more than anything else, and you will likely struggle with sexual intimacy and in your relationships until your experience is processed through counseling. By investing your time and money in therapy, you can make meaningful strides in your life, living according to your agenda—and not your trauma’s. 

Feel Safe And Secure To Enjoy Sex Again

Sexual trauma and abuse from your past may have compromised your present, but counseling through EMDR Therapy Solutions is an effective way to take control of your future. Send us a message to schedule an appointment or click here to find out more about EMDR. Now offering virtual therapy to clients throughout NM, CO, and AZ.