Helping Our Kids Heal From Sexual Abuse

Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption & Foster Care

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Children who have been sexually abused can heal. Join our conversation with Dr. Eliana Gil to learn how. Dr. Gil is the founder of the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery. She specializes in the assessment and treatment of trauma in children, especially those who have been sexually abused. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, and a Registered Art Therapist.
In this episode, we cover:

• What type of abuse is considered “sexual abuse”?
• Parents often don’t know before fostering or adopting or taking in their grandchild that the child has experienced sexual abuse. What behaviors might indicate that a child has been abused sexually?
• What kids are at greatest risk for being sexually abused?
• Brief refresher on typical psycho-sexual development in children without abuse and how sexual abuse can alter this.
• How does the impact of the abuse differ on the child depending on their relationship to the abuser?
• Children can and do heal from sexual abuse.
• What are the long-term impacts of having been sexually abused?
• Not all kids who were sexually abused become sexual abusers. Is there research on this? How common is this?
• Guilt because they may have enjoyed part of the experience—physically or the attention.
• The presence of a supportive adult who believes the child can make a difference in how a child recovers.
• How should a parent respond if a child discloses sexual abuse?
• How can parents help children heal from sexual abuse?
• What protective factors in children or families make recovery more likely?
• What are some practical tools and talking points to assist a child in the re-learning of healthy boundaries and expressions of healthy affection?
• How to find a therapist to help a child heal from sexual abuse?
• What safeguards should a family have in place when accepting placement of a child who may have been sexually abused? How to protect other children in the home?

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.
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