Counselling a Woman Traumatized by Severe Abuse

Abstract

The manuscript is a case report on a newly married Christian wife and mother of 3 children who sought help at a college counselling service for substance dependence and marital problems. Her past sexual trauma had manifested as severe traumatic reactions, which had contributed to a chronic emotionally distressed life, sexual promiscuity, and substance dependence, and she was unable to function appropriately in most spectrums of vitality. After the case issues and counsel-ling approaches were researched, family members attended 11 Christ-centered or Spirituotherapy counselling sessions during which theistic and CBT interventions were used. The client gained in-sight into her past and current issues; grew spiritually; decreased her substance use; gained better communication skills, parenting, and coping methods; maintained a part-time job; and learned relapse prevention and management strategies. It was recommended that she continue theistic counselling.