Multi Dimensional Model 

1. The beginning may have been: 

•   a disclosure to a counselor

or a family member or friend                                                                      

• a memory surfaced spontaneously
• you may have become tired of intrusive memories                                                               
•   or you wanted to resolve the cause of the symptoms.
• you've kept your memory of csa to yourself

             and now the pain exceeds  the shame.

 each survivor has ones own  recovery road.

there are many variables

and many dimensions

 this site is designed

  to conceptualise

 and to facilitate navigation

 by providing  known  alternatives

  and providing for the unknown alternatives

   

 

     unfortunately many researchers

   look at the correlation of two variables

         this then invalidates the experience of survivors

         who have other more relevant variables.

any model should be adaptive

 click here to go to the Recovery road dimension.

Many survivors report much benifit from therapy from a psychologist

or counselor or a sexual assault counselor.

    Perhaps it is because I am a survivor of early childhood (pre cognative)

sexual trauma,  perhaps other survivors also found that cognative therapy has it's limits.

     without dismissing such therapy,

 as I walked along my journey of recovery I found I needed an interdisciplinary approach.

     I also found that most University Degrees in Psychology do not have units in trauma.

    My conclusion was that Trauma Release Counseling should be an interdisciplinary Masters Degree,

which has units in multiple Health Care Treatments  to facilitate referals to other health care professionals,

    where trauma release therapists work as a team.

.

   Trauma release Counseling would also have units for multiple types of trauma:

• trauma experienced by soldiers
• the trauma from a car accident
• industrial trauma
• domestic violance trauma
• sexual trauma
• other forms of trauma.

The interdisciplinary team might include Health Care and Para Health Care Professionals such as:

• sexual assault counsellors  ( a Masters Degree or Graduate Diploma in sexual assault counselling  )
• Psychologists or Social Workers
• remedial (trauma release) massagers or physiotherapists
• music therapists
• EDMR
• EFT or Tapping

trauma informed Clergy for survivors who find comfort in our religion.

secular modernities for those who prefer a secular approach.

• our local GP  - Doctor  and specialists we might be referred to.
• Dentist
• Optometrists
• Gastroenterologist ( who performs a colonoscopy )
• Urologists
• other professionals who treat us.

 

   

 

Link to 

Aussie Survivors

I have noticed consistantly that issues and questions of sexuality

   are the most asked questions and topics commented on by male survivors.

Sexuality is a dimension of it's own which I hope to attempt to sensitivly write up later.

 

      Whilst these questions can be embarrasing  they are important and relevant to explore.

 

A few observations and my own modeling:

it is the prevailing view that one is born with ones sexuality.

 

my own observation is that when I was sexually traumatised 

     I became sexually disorientated as in confused.

         the sexually traumatised version of the disorientation experienced during concussion.

        this could be due to the very early age it occurred and my response "what happened"

        and because it was sudden and brutal.

    Male on male sexual abuse causes much confusion, much speculation.

•      Gay survivors often comment "sexual abuse does not make you gay."
•      Heterosexual male survivors struggle with intrusive memories

               of  acts of sexual abuse contrary to ones sexual orientation.

    

 sexualness issues  ( a term I invented to define the capacity for sex):

• sexualisation  and a desire of many survivors for desexualisation
• sexual addiction

there are dimensions within the dimension of sexuality.

     in recent years ex ex gay therapy survivors have reported great harm 

         as a result many governments are banning reparative or ex gay therapy.

          those who run these programmes have brought confusion into the discussion.

      I struggle to find non triggering termonology .

 

however many survivors struggle with these questions and so as sensitivly as possable 

       I will attempt to work through them.

I have  been a member of a few survivor forums for over ten years.

my views have been refined

whilst needing to meet my own needs of recovery

 

    This complexity is a major reason for my proposal for multi dimensional modeling.

         to attempt to avoid forming correlations  relevant to some survivors  but not others.   

 

   I emplore researchers and counselors and survivors not to argue from the particular to the general.

neither to impose the general to all t the exclusion to the exceptions.

 

 

 

    

 

 

   

           

 

 

I include abondonment with great sorrow.

However in a recent consultative meeting

   I summarised my years of recovery in one word  "abondonment".

 

Examples:

1)   My 1997 diary records my early attempts at finding support

        for me as a male adult survivor  starting my journey of recovery.

        I was referred from one organisation to another to another

           by people who did not check out organisations before putting them on a data base.

2)  therapists who impose their model regardles of weather it fits or not.

3)  therapists who do not provide book lists  or references.

4)  Those who are doing research are not popularising their work

          as is done in other faculties.

5)  our health care professionals and counsellors not feeding back observations or the effectiveness of treatments

        particularly adaption to sexually traumatised clients / patients.

6)   a need for health care professionals to be more trauma informed

7)  I personally would like to see greater interaction between clergy and psychologists.

        there is room for a more integrated approach

        parallel to psychologists providing a secular approach to survivors who want a secular approach.

     However it is not helpful for those of us who find comfort in our religion

        to not have an integrated support team .

      There are examples of such integration in  America,

 

I apologise for the inadequacy of my referencing.

 

hopefully over time I will rectify this deficiency

 

 

1)  as survivors we are survivors of sexual abuse

         sexual assault counseling  should be recognised as a unique discipline.

 

2) Whilst it is not uncommon for survivors to experience mental health issues

       many of us do not

       many of us have university degrees

        many of us are Professionals.

    in the past data was collected at intake in drug and alcohol rehab centres

       and jails.  this produced  data from a limited group of survivors

        which was incidental data.

     The Australian Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse

   held 8,000 private hearings  from a wide range of survivors  many of us high functioning.

 

  I have argued that sexual assault counseling should not be sen as a mental health issue.

     the impact of sexual trauma impacts far more than cognative functionality.

 hence I have argued for a neuro physiological perspective interacting with many disciplines.

 

3) Whilst many survivors adopt addictive behaviour to numb the pain

            not all of us do

4) Male survivors have historically under reported. 

       60% of survivors who disclosed to the Royal Commission were men

         mainly middle aged men many of whom disclosed csa for the first time.

 

5)  I emplore researchers to be more collaborative with us.

      Let us ask the questions in addition to the questions you ask.

      let us identify the issues in addition to those you identify.

 

 

see blow for details

I invented this myself

after seeing the benifits of trauma release.

 

My experience during csa

was I was severely traumatised.

like  an earthquake vibrating through a building.

 

I figured that if I was traumatised

 then it is conceptually possable

 to be detraumatised.

one can also be retraumatised  .

Sexual assault is the term used in

the Criminal Justice System

to describe the crime

The existance of a crime

necessitates the existance

of a victim.

 

However one can be a victim

in the criminal justice system

and a survivor at the same time. 

 

The Royal Commission  acknowledged

that we are survivors which was a great progress.

Defining Sexual Abuse

• Sexual Abuse is an abuse of power
• a power imbalance
• Sexual abuse is a Marxist Concept
• sexual abuse belongs to the

       faculties of sociology and Criminology

   eg  the abuse of power

         the breach of duty of care

sexual assault counseling is a different field.

 

Context of sexual abuse

• age of the child when csa occurred
• the position of power of the abuser
• the response of institutions to disclosures of csa
• response of family members to domestic sexual abuse

 

Resolution through Justice.

• making a statement to the Police
• disclosures to the institution or ones family
• the necessity of support services to balance the power
• the role of Victims Services
• responses of the criminal legal system
• responses of the Civil Legal system.
• the need for and results of Royal Commissions.
• restitution,
• Redress systems
• insurance companies
• Compensation through legal action in the Civil Courts.
• Sexual abuse is an injustice

              hence it needs justice to correct the injustice. 

 

I am using the term sexual trauma to describe

the neuro physiological impacts of sexual abuse:

• cognitive impacts - treated by psychologists
• right brain impacts - the emotions, the limbotic system etc
• physiological - trauma in the body, in particular the muscles.

                               treated by physiotherapists

                              and remedial massagers and kensiologists

                              reflexology etc.

sexual trauma impacts on the soul.

     those who find comfort in ones religion need Pastoral Care

       from trauma informed Clergy and Chaplains.

       prayer and comfort of the scriptures.

     sexual abuse impacts on the Spirit.

       (email  nathan@aussiesurvivors for details)

 

    those who prefer a secular approach may   use

        meditation, mindfullness  etc.

   

music as therapy

art as therapy

theatre as therapy

sport as therapy

gardening as therapy

 

From therapy to hobby as part of a well adjusted life.

 

we start to appreciate the value of music, the arts, gardening, sport (including walking) religion or non religion as part of living life

   

 As survivors of sexual trauma walk  down our recovery road,

we often put factors onto a scale (one dimensional) 

it is not uncommon for professionals and researchers to make assumptions or observe correlations based on the intersection of two scales.

However it is suggested that the point of intersection varies from survivor to survivor and that a multi dimensional model may be more appropriate.

To do this effectively would require programming skills beyond my use of web site creators however it is hoped that these pages may illustrate the concept where the position of each survivor on each scale for each dimension is independent of the other thus not excluding the existence of minorities or a typical permutations.   

When I was studying anthropology

I remember my lecturer told us not to use simplistic solutions to solve complex problems.

Sexual abuse and sexual trauma are complex

and therefore our response needs to incorporate the complexity

    and diversity. 

I have sought to break it up into dimensions and issues

    for professionals and survivors to find managable.

 

The multi dimensional model is not written to be read through

   but to locate  issues and  parts of the journey of individual survivors

    as they arise and work it through.

 

I emplore readers not to use a point on an dimension to be predictive

  because  for many of us nothing is predictive

  because of other variables which may or may not be present. 

 

likewise we should avoid being prematurely or presumptively

    prescriptive. ..