Respond to your colleagues postings that presented a different intervention strategy. Identify the similarities and differences in your individual interventions. Share any insights gained from your readings and comparison.
HERE IS THE DISCUSSION THAT THE WRITER WILL BE RESPONDING TO:
an analysis of how Beths traumatic sexual history may be impacting her marriage.
Due to Beth being raped 6 months before dating Don she has experienced symptoms of PTSD that have kept Don and Beth from consummating the marriage. Beth reports panic attacks and crying when thinking about having sex. Her trauma is keeping the couple from going to deeper intimate levels and is preventing them from starting a family.
Identify an intervention that you would choose to assist Beth and Don. In your rationale, discuss the underlying theory of the intervention and how it will address the couples intimacy problem.
An intervention that I would suggest to assist Beth and Don is a Sex Positive approach. Sex-positive refers to an approach that views sexuality, including sexual pleasure, as a normative and essential part of human behavior and wellness. Sex-positivity focuses on the presence of positive pleasure and the absence of physical and emotional harm (Hitter et al., 2017). It is important that the sex-positive therapist models the acceptance of healthy sexuality, which may be a deficit for someone with a history of sexual trauma. This stance encourages openness in discussing topics that the client may be hesitant to discuss, and promotes positive regard for sexuality and intimacy (Hitter et al., 2017). Healthy sexual behavior has been found to provide a wide variety of mental and physical benefits, including increases in emotion regulation and lower morbidity and mortality rates. A sex-positive approach also emphasizes values, boundaries, safety, and pleasure that combat the boundary-violating, unsafe, nonpleasurable experience of sexual assault. In this way, survivors may be able to reclaim their sense of healthy sexuality that may have been shattered as a result of sexual trauma. Research has shown that using sex therapy with trauma treatment led to better outcomes in sexuality (Hitter et al., 2017). It is crucial that the victim first address the PTSD symptoms.
References
Hitter, T. L., Adams, E. M., & Cahill, E. J. (2017). Positive Sexual Self-Schemas of Women Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse. The Counseling Psychologist, 45(2), 266-293.
REFERNCES:
Baggett, L. R., Eisen, E., Gonzalez, R. S., Olson, L. A., Cameron, R. P., & Mona, L. R. (2017). Sex-positive assessment and treatment among female trauma survivors. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(8), 965974.
Hitter, T. L., Adams, E. M., & Cahill, E. J. (2017). Positive Sexual Self-Schemas of Women Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse. The Counseling Psychologist, 45(2), 266-293.
