Cannabis Use Increases Psychosis in Sexual Abuse Survivors
The development of psychosis is often the result of a traumatic childhood event. Sexual abuse is one factor that has been shown to increase the likelihood of psychosis. Emerging research is suggesting that cannabis use is another factor that significantly increases the risk for psychotic symptoms. However, there is little research devoted to examining how early sexual trauma and cannabis use influence each other and an individual’s risk for psychosis later in life. J. E. Houston of the Division of Psychology at Nottingham... Read More
© Copyright 2012 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Mountain View Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
Resiliency is seen as one’s ability to adaptively cope with stressful events. Individuals who have survived 
Love is one of the most elemental of emotions—it is a building block to some of our deepest relationships and a component in many of our happiest days. Yet the ability to freely give and receive love is a fragile skill, which traumatic experiences can all too easily dent or damage. Learning how to be loved is a vital part of your healing, and here are a few tips on how to regain your ability to accept someone’s care, concern, and nurture.
The first set of tips have to do with the person who is expressing kindness, care, concern, nurture, attention, aka love to you. Because you have experienced... 
One risk factor for 
After having worked in a residential treatment facility for abused and neglected girls for 8 years, I observed that the phenomenon of learned helplessness had become an all-to-common denominator for these children. It was very rare that an abused child was placed with us for a single incident of abuse. By the time these children reached our facility, many of them had already been physically or sexually abused numerous times throughout their childhood and adolescence.
Many times these children had been abused not by a single perpetrator but by several different people, including members of their... 
“Estimates from the U.S. Department of Justice indicate between 21% and 38% of households with 
Holiday traditions can be excruciatingly difficult for individuals who have experienced traumatic events, and yet finding a way to decrease this difficulty is an often neglected topic. Many individuals take a “grin and bear it” attitude and argue that the holiday season only comes once a year. While the final months of a calendar year do have a large helping of holidays, holidays occur throughout the year, and birthdays and seemingly minor holidays can sometimes be harder than the big ones.
One option would be to turn your back on all holidays and disengage from any such celebrations. Unfortunately... 
My 17-year-old son asked me the other day, “Why do people get depressed around the holidays? This time of year is full of great food, presents, music, lights, families being together, time off—it’s great. What’s there to be depressed about?”
I was heartened to know that he had such a positive experience of the holiday season that he couldn’t even imagine why someone wouldn’t. Maybe it’s occupational hazard, but most of the people I talk to all day have painful feelings around the holidays—many feel depressed, or more depressed if they already were depressed.
So I explained... 
Trauma symptoms are often experienced and viewed as invasive and malevolent. 
:
Children who engage in sexual intercourse at an early age are at increased risk for many psychological and physical problems. One of the primary indicators for early sexual activity is maltreatment. “A childhood history of maltreatment, including sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect, has been identified as a risk factor for early initiation of sexual intercourse,” said Sarah E. Oberlander of the University of Maryland School and lead author of a study assessing the effects of 
I’ve been thinking about my post, Great Job Anderson Cooper... But Don’t Stop There, and know there’s much more for us to understand in order to truly help end child abuse in our country and world. In fact, to help end not just child abuse, but abuse itself in our country and world.
Realistically, this is a challenging task. And realistically, this is not just a task to deal with in the world outside us. The lasting accomplishment is an inside job. But we already know that, don’t we? Optimistically, the task can be accomplished. Every ounce of energy we invest in the inner work will... 
Recently, CNN’s Anderson Cooper did a sad but powerful exposé on child abuse in some fundamentalist Christian sects in our country. The report, Ungodly Discipline, was definitely a positive step... but our examination of this topic shouldn’t be limited to the abuse of children by religious fundamentalists.
For the second time in weeks, a terribly destructive occurrence in our society has been exposed, but only as a practice in a fundamentalist group. The other time exposed Warren Jeffs’ having molested, violated, and sexually abused the children in his Fundamentalist Church of Jesus... 
:
Traumatic events in childhood can lead to a lifetime of psychological problems. People who have experienced an interpersonal trauma are much more likely to be re-victimized later in life than those who have no experience of trauma. “Women with a childhood abuse history are around 1.4 to 3.7 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in adulthood, and a majority (around 59%) of women with either childhood sexual assaults (CSA) or adult assaults have experienced both,” said Bridget Klest of the University of Oregon, author of a recent study that examined the effects of childhood trauma and... 
:
“Play is an essential activity of early childhood as it contributes to the cognitive, social, emotional, and motivational development of children,” said Kristin Valentino of the Department of Psychology and Center for Children & Families at the University of Notre Dame and lead author of a new study. “During the first few years of life, parents have a critical role in influencing children's play and developing social and communicative behaviors.” Previous studies have shown that children who are maltreated have significantly lower levels of social, creative and cognitive play by... 
