Boundary crossing behaviour has been part of society throughout time, such as sexual abuse and violence (SAV).
As research into human nature and psychology has grown we are now able to understand this behaviour further. We have gained a broader understanding of the underlying causes of pathology, as well as the impact it has on people, and how this can be passed on.
The experience of sexual abuse or violence can have a significant impact on a person’s life, changing the perception of their inner and outer world. The victim can experience long lasting effects, particularly a continuous threat to their feeling of safety. As modern theories illustrate, the function of our brain and nervous system have an impact on our physical body. Our body creates a feedback loop to our brain, continuing to reinforce these feelings of unsafety, as well as somatic experiences and illnesses that cannot be explained medically. This communication from brain to body and body to brain puts the client at risk of ending up in a continuous negative feedback cycle.
Working with sexual abuse and violence – a psychosynthesis approach
As psychosynthesis is a transpersonal psychology, we also pay attention to the wounding at the level of the soul. Which parts of the soul have been impacted by this boundary crossing behaviour? How can we, as counsellors and therapists, guide our clients through their healing journey? Guided imagery and body exercises are helpful techniques that can be used to reframe experiences and ground the person into their bodies.
Through the world wide attention the #metoo movement gained, broader discussions on the impact of sexual abuse and violence have become more publicly discussed, which will hopefully lead to prevention. Still, many people carry the memory and the potential imprint on their psyche for life. Although there are various routes one can work with SAV-survivors, psychosynthesis is not explicitly part of most training modalities.
We recently hosted a workshop which was aimed at trained counsellors and psychotherapists who wished to further their experience and work with clients who experienced sexual violence, abuse and trauma. Participants were invited to gain a better understanding of these issues, whilst being provided with a working model and learning to develop a language for framing the client’s story in order to create a way out from the internalised relationship with the abuser or violator. This training also aimed to raise awareness of unexplained phenomena (psychosomatic complaints, unexplained psychological complaints and repetitive patterns in relationships, transference issues in therapy) that could be related to SAV.
What was covered?
- A psychosynthesis approach to working with SAV survivors.
- Attention to transference and countertransference in working with survivors.
- How we work with opening up secrets and loyalty issues arising from sexual abuse and violence.
- The impact on current relationships.
- The ways in which SAV is similar and, at the same time, different to other childhood or adult trauma.
The trainer
Giel Luichjes is working as a psychotherapist in Amsterdam in private practice, and a Psychosynthesis trainer in Sweden and The Netherlands. He has specialised in working with gender and sexuality, including sexual abuse and violence. He has a special interest in existential psychotherapy and social constructivism in trying to understand complex social phenomena and more down to earth: the dynamics in human relations.
Written by Giel Luichjes