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Healing Toolkit

"One size doesn't fit all...In order to recover from trauma,
you need to address a large number of different systems"
 
Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score,
interview with Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health

There are many different types of actions and therapies that are appropriate for those facing sibling sexual trauma. For example, reaching out to peers, seeking professional help, education, and self-help activities are all helpful. The list below includes some of the many options. 

 

Peer Support 

Connect with others who truly understand what you’re going through with Peer Support.

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Free Resources

Online Self-Guided Trauma & Self-Care Recovery Course for Victims/Survivors of Sexual Abuse or Assault at any age from Somerset & Avon Rape & Sexual Abuse Support 

SARSAS Easy Read Self-Help Guide for Survivors

SARSAS Self-Help Guide for Men and Boys

SARSAS Self-Help Guide for Friends and Family

Wholistic Approach to Healing blog, podcast, and free self-help guides from Brinn Langdale, LMFT, wholistic therapist and coach, SSA Survivor

Trauma Recovery 101 video series with incest survivor and advocate Nubia DuVall Wilson and trauma recovery coach Monika Hendrix

Survivors Healing Survivors blog by and for survivors of child sexual abuse

Tapping with Steph EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) Tapping guided video series

Stress Management Tools | Therapist Aid

Vagus Nerve Reset Activities designed to activate your body's self-calming system: How-to Video, review and critique of polyvagal theory in Psychology Today blog

 

Professional Help

There are different approaches to psychological therapy that can be helpful to those confronted with SST. Talk therapies are helpful but where trauma is involved, there is often the need to address the body's physiological reactions as well.  Different therapies work for different people.  If one doesn't work, it's worth it to try another.

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  • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a type of therapy that can be very helpful for symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression.

  • Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), which helps you stop the cycle of unhelpful thoughts, bad feelings, and bad actions or other.

  • Treating Trauma-Related Chronic Pain list of recommended options by 5WAVES cofounder Maria Socolof

  • Somatic Experiencing (SE) addresses the way that the body carries the memory and experience of sexual trauma and is also a powerful approach to healing from trauma.

  • Sensorimotor Therapy, similar to SE, body movements and postures are important focal points of treatment as is body awareness and mindfulness during treatment.

  • Finding a Therapist

  • Wholistic Approach to Healing: one-on-one or video-based online mindfulness and breathwork course, with Brinn Langdale, LMFT & SSA Survivor

  • Siblings Too Podcast: Therapy and Mindfulness Part I (41 min) and Part II (30 min) with Patricia Downing, Integrative Psychotherapist and Mindful Practitioner

  • Charlie Health: online intensive therapy with no waitlists for teens and 20's, including services for survivors, children with sexual behavior problems, and families 

  • Wholistic Approach to Healing podcast explores a variety of alternative approaches to healing, from writing to tapping to social justice work and more

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Share Your Story

Telling the truth of your experience to others can be a step toward healing; however, it is important to carefully consider the best way for you to do so and to make sure you have support available. This guide from the Marie Collins Foundation offers guidance from survivors, for survivors considering sharing their experiences.  

 

#SiblingsToo is specific to sibling sexual trauma; has a tool to tell your written story anonymously to be used for research purposes

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MeQ and Me 90-day Guided Journaling Tool (Sentence Stem Program), developed by SSA survivor Nancy Morris, specifically for SSA survivors, comes in the format of a daily email for 3 months, for approximately the price of a book

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The Sibling Aggression and Abuse Story Archive at the Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, has a survey to securely submit written accounts of your experiences, the impact it has had on you, and/or any advice you would offer to others. In sharing, you are giving permission for your words to be quoted anonymously for illustrative purposes in their online and print resources for survivors, supporters, and helpers. 

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The Power of YOU is a project of EmpowerSurvivors. They will post your unedited, written personal story of child sexual abuse, recovery, and healing (500 words or less).  "EmpowerSurvivors believes that by sharing our stories of childhood sexual abuse and recovery we begin to lose the grip shame can have on us. It is also a way to reach other survivors who may be living in silence and have never heard someone else's story of abuse, healing, and wellness."

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Sexual Abuse Survivors Stories | The Younique Foundation will post your story online but you do not need to give your name

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The Writing Room by Protect Children (Suojellan Lapsia) is an online space where anyone affected by childhood sexual violence (survivors, parents, family, friends) can write about their experience and how it has affected their life. It will be read by a Protect Children staffer. If you choose to give permission (not required), your submission could be used for awareness, research, and/ or encouraging others who are hurting. 

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Brave Voices is a survivor-led organization with a mission to "end child sexual assault by breaking the silence that perpetuates child sexual abuse." Brave Voices offers guidance on how to share your story through an audio interview, collected by Archive Storycorps.

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Handing the Shame Back is a podcast hosted by Gloria Masters, devoted to supporting adult survivors of child sexual abuse and sharing their voices. If you are interested in possibly being interviewed, submit this form to indicate your interest and begin the process.

#SiblingsToo.com invites anyone affected by sibling sexual trauma to share your story, anonymously and confidentially, to be used for research and to guide future podcast content.

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Self-Help Books and Journals 

  • Ellen Bass & Laura Davis: Courage to Heal - There’s a reason this book is a classic; it has been a beacon for healing for women survivors of child sexual abuse since 1992. Companion workbook also available.

  • MeQ and Me Journaling Tool Regular sentence prompts, created by sibling sexual abuse survivor & psychologist Nancy Morris, specifically for other survivors of sibling sexual abuse or trauma. Available for approximately the cost of a book. 

  • Survivingchildhoodtrauma.com: Weekly Journaling Prompts for healing from childhood sexual abuse, developed by a survivor.

  • Rupi Kaur: Healing Through Words - guided journaling exploring themes of trauma, loss, healing, love

  • McKay, Wood, & Brantley: DBT Workbooks - There are several versions of this workbook specific to various ages and circumstances--all help guide you in learning mindfulness techniques and applying them to manage your emotions and deal with difficult people and situations.

  • Robert Enright, PhD: Forgiveness is a Choice - Based on research that included incest survivors; Guided journaling to deal with shame and anger, with the option to go on to forgiveness. Useful even if you never decide to forgive.

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Resources for Helping Children Living with Trauma

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Books on Healing the Body and Mind in Tandem

 

Self-Help Activities

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