Sadly, approximately one in four boys faces some form of sexual abuse. Psychotherapy can help with recovery from such experiences. I've worked extensively with abuse survivors and have shared in their struggles to feel in control of their bodies, manage painful memories, and enter relationships as equal players. I've been struck time and again by the resiliency of survivors --- how so many carry on with their lives to find meaning and success. I'd like to mention MaleSurvivor, a wonderful organization that helps many in their healing process. I've been affiliated with the group as a Board member, an Advisory Board member, and as Chair of their international conference. I've seen first hand how effective MaleSurvivor is through its weekend retreats, interactive web site, and its international conferences which brings together survivors, their families, and professionals who work with survivors. I encourage you to look at MaleSurvivor's web site.
INTER-GENERATIONAL TRAUMA
Inter-generational trauma affects many people. Whether it results from the distant family trauma of slavery, or the more recent trauma of having suffered childhood abuse, or of a parent needing to flee his or her country of origin --- the impact on the next or subsequent generations can be profound. Helen Fremont movingly writes about her experience as the child of Holocaust survivors in her memoir The Escape Artist. She describes how the silence and mystery of her parents' experiences profoundly affected her and her sister. I recommend it highly.