Sexual Abuse or Assault

Trauma is an emotional response to any circumstance where you felt hopeless and overwhelmed. Many times the trauma is in the form of sexual abuse or assault. These experiences exceed your capacity to shape your beliefs, identity, spirituality, and coping. Trauma impacts the way you see yourself, others and the world around you.

Kim takes a trauma-informed, anti-oppressive approach to support clients who have experienced sexual abuse or assault. Creating a safe, affirming space, Kim helps clients process trauma at their own pace, empowering them to regain agency. Using DBT, clients learn emotional regulation, mindfulness, and healthy coping strategies to manage triggers and rebuild trust, fostering resilience and healing.

Over the last ten years I have sought additional training in trauma, with particular focus on working with survivors of sexual assault. I previously worked in a rape crisis center and volunteered with RAINN for several years. My goal in addressing your sexual trauma is to help you move toward empowerment in your body, relationships, and in the world.

For over 24 years I worked for a local sexual violence response program providing services to adult and child survivors as well their family members and friends.

All forms of trauma can cause excruciating symptoms. Trauma perpetrated by other people, especially when sexual in nature, comes with its own particular challenges. I spent over four years working exclusively with survivors of sexual trauma and can bring extensive training and experience to the conversation. If past trauma is still infringing upon your present, you deserve to have space and support for healing.

Left untreated, the wounds of incest/childhood sexual abuse can permeate every area of your life as an adult. You might be silently plagued with nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, and feeling like something bad is going to happen at any minute. Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and maintaining the shame-based belief that the abuse was somehow your fault are all common reactions in adulthood. Know your healing is possible and that you deserve to heal.

When you have experienced sexual trauma, it is crucial to work with someone who understands the complexity and depth of how your life and sense of yourself can be impacted. I work with you to begin the process of feeling safer in your body and in your relationships, to regain confidence and trust with those around you and with yourself. I create a caring, non-judgmental place where I bring many years of training in body-based trauma healing approaches, mindfulness, and relationship focus.

In addition to working clinically with survivors of sexual abuse and assault, I am a Staff Trainer for MVP Strategies, a gender violence prevention program founded by Jackson Katz, PhD., utilizing the Bystander Approach. I have worked for over 10 years training individuals in the US Military, the entertainment industry, college and university athletic programs, and community groups to recognize and intervene in sexual violence in their immediate cultural contexts.

I worked at a crisis center attached to a shelter where many of my clients were survivors of family/intimate partner violence. I utilize a trauma-informed approach, depending on where the client is in their recovery coupled with patience and understanding.

I have extensive experience working with survivors of sexual abuse, assault, and trauma - whether this occurred during childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, and was a one-time or ongoing assault. I have helped children and young adults disclose sexual abuse to family members, survivors of all ages address and process past sexual trauma(s), and clients work through recent/current sexual abuse.

I am trained in several trauma-informed strategies. I currently hold certification in Complex PTSD and Trauma (CCPT) Levels I and II, which incorporates EMDR, Parts Work (IFS), CPT, and Polyvagal Theory. I am well-versed in Emotional Freedom Tapping (EFT), DBT, CBT, Family Systems, Somatic Psychology, and the impact of trauma on the brain.

Many people I work with have experienced childhood sexual abuse. If specific memories are not available, we work with felt sense and any memories that may present as we do the work. Treatment modalities include EMDR, focused mindfulness, Ego State/parts work and embodied skills practices.

I have worked extensively with people who have experienced sexual abuse or assault. I utilize DBT skills training, EMDR and Somatic Experiencing in order to assist people with healing through these past experiences.

I specialize in working with individuals who have experienced trauma, complex trauma, and PTSD, providing trauma-informed care in a supportive and healing environment. I often integrate a variety of mental health modalities, art therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) that focuses on restoring a sense of safety, fostering resilience, and empowering individuals on their path toward healing.

As a dedicated professional in the field of trauma and abuse recovery, I have cultivated a comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding sexual abuse and its profound impact on individuals. My expertise lies in creating a safe, empathetic environment where survivors can begin to heal and reclaim their narratives. With a focus on trauma-informed care, I employ various therapeutic approaches, including Sandtray Therapy, to facilitate healing and self-expression.

While therapy for trauma/sexual abuse/assault is inherently a challenging process, it is a vital, necessary, empowering labor, and it is typically effective in meaningfully reducing symptoms and negative impacts. I am continually amazed by my clients strength, resilience, and ability to heal and to flourish. I always feel honored when invited to assist clients in their journeys to overcome and to triumph over their traumas. I sincerely hope that you will invite me to become a part of yours.

Many, both men and women, have been the victims of sexual, as well as emotional and physical abuse. It can change our views of sex, our self-worth, our relationships, and even view of God, sometimes in unusual and unrealized ways. Many learn to avoid sex or seek it out in harmful ways. No need for shame though. You are safe here to express your deep thoughts that we don't share we anyone and even try to keep from God. You are indeed a victim, but I do not want anyone to stay a victim.

I am a certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR can look very different from traditional talk therapy. I work to integrate talk therapy processing and EMDR together. It is considered the “gold standard” treatment for traumatic episodes and PTSD. Evidence shows it is also effective in the treatment of: phobias, philias, addiction, grief and loss, attachment disorders, depression, anxiety, etc. My niche' is sexual trauma combining my two specialties.