Stolen Tomorrows: Understanding and Treating Women's Childhood Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Looking back over his cases, acclaimed psychotherapist Steven Levenkron noticed he'd been treating numerous adolescents and adult women for problems related to childhood sexual abuse. He saw that, left untreated, these girls and women would remain in psychological pain, some of it of potentially catastrophic nature, their entire lives. In Stolen Tomorrows, Levenkron relates, through over a dozen case studies, various kinds of abuse, from one-time incidents with strangers to recurring abuse at the hands of close relatives; the different psychological manifestations of the abuses later in life, including psychological disorders and destructive behaviors such as anorexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and self-mutilation; and the variety of approaches he and his patients used to face up to the reality of the abuse and overcome it. In the second half of the book, he draws general conclusions and explains the relationship between the initial abuse and the problem that brings the patient to therapy later in life. He outlines the preparations therapists need to make when dealing with a victim of childhood abuse and guides them through the stages of therapy that may be necessary. And finally, Levenkron encourages victims themselves to seek help, instructing them on finding the right therapist and getting the most out of "the talking cure." Enlivened by the accessible writing of Levenkron and his wife and cotherapist, Abby, Stolen Tomorrows is a guide for therapists, for the public, and for victims, many of whom remain mostly silent, fraught with shame and surrounded by a society that unfairly reinforces that shame. It is an empowering book that will help manage and erase this shame, and help women to recover their futures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: jacket)