Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) for survivors of childhood and adolescent sexual abuse is a proven treatment model that is designed to enable survivors of abuse and sexual assault to activate, endure, and attenuate trauma-related and other painful emotions. It also serves to provide a path to distance themselves from risky sexual practices and remain in a satisfying relationship.[1] DBT when compared with traditional cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for patients with PTSD following child sexual abuse revealed that DBT had less drop out, higher rates of symptomatic remission, and reliable recovery.[2]
The negative effects of rape and sexual assault has sufficient social and economic cost and impacts the victim for generations, their capacity to work, and participate in community and family life.
Psychological treatments are highly individualized and “are interpersonal or informational activities, techniques, or strategies that target biological, behavioral, cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, social, or environmental factors with aim of improving health functioning and well-being”.[3] Treatments may include psychotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and/or dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT).
[1] Steil, et al. How to Treat Childhood Sexual Abuse Related PTSD Accompanied by Risky Sexual Behavior: A Case Study on the Use of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (DBT-PTSD). Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma (2022) 15:471-478;
[2] Bohus, MD, Ph.D., Et al. Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (DBT-PTSD) Compared with Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) in Complex Presentations of PTSD in Women Survivors of Childhood Abuse. A Randomized Clinical Trail.
[3] Brown, et al. Psychosocial interventions of rape and sexual assault experience during adulthood. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Nov 7;2019(11):CD013456.
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