A compassionate approach to healing childhood sexual abuse
by Karen A. Duncan, M.A. 

Karen's book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, FetchBook.info or at the publisher's website, Greenwood Publishing. The Journey for Women shares the stories of eighteen women sexually abused as children and explains a compassionate approach to the healing of this trauma. Karen offers guidance and support to recognize and heal the prolonged effects of childhood sexual abuse that can include depression, anxiety, eating disorders, chronic shock, dissociation and physical pain. She also discusses how this childhood trauma can cause a traumatic pathway of revictimization to women and children throughout their lives. The incidence and prevalence of abuse by family members is also addressed. Duncan explains the dual dilemma - moral and legal - that women face in exposing a sexual perpetrator within their family when not protected by the legal system or supported by the family to reveal this crime. Karen writes from the perspective of both a therapist who has 22 years experience and as a woman who herself has healed from sexual abuse. Readers will find "The Journey for Women" insightful, compassionate and meaningful.

Healing from the Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Journey for Women
Table of Contents:

Book Reviews:

Social and Behavioral Sci-Psychology
Duncan, Karen A. Healing from the trauma of childhood sexual abuse: the journey for women. Praeger, 2004. 244p bibl index afp ISBN 0-275-98084-7, $39.95 . Reviewed in 2005apr CHOICE. "Children should have a safe haven of family love. Sexual abuse makes this impossible. Duncan (a therapist in private practice) shares the survival strategies women use to cope with childhood physical and emotional trauma - strategies that include denial, repression, depression, secrecy, and chronic shock that can lead to such lingering problems as mood and eating disorders, substance abuse, dissociation, and self-injury. The journey to recovery includes ending pretence, finding safety, confronting the abuser, and building a new life. This book offers theoretical frameworks and practical guidance in the journey toward recovery, everything from understanding the impact of trauma to finding a therapist. Duncan clarifies the illusive connections between early abuse and the physical and psychological consequences in adulthood and offers a map and exercises for moving ahead in recovery. Along the way she illuminates the moral and legal dilemmas and controversies of exposing a perpetrator, who is often protected by law, society, and family - for example, issues pertaining to false memory and the risks to the abused party of disclosure. Letters written by abused women to the perpetrators and supportive others illuminate this discussion and offer hope and inspiration to survivors and the health professionals who work with them. Summing Up: Recommended. All collections; all levels".

- S. M. Valente, University of Southern California

"A thorough, well-written guide to assist both therapists and clients in understanding the healing process that is unique to victims of child sexual abuse, rape and other violence. Karen addresses the stages of healing and the importance of seeking a therapist who knows how to create a safe, trusting space. She also provides important, easy to read reference material in the appendices that the reader will find extremely useful.

- Kathleen Brooks, Ph.D. World Talk Radio, Host of Darkness2Light

"Karen Duncan has written a gem of a book. She took her 21 years of clinical experience and study and created an effective treatment program for women who were sexually abused as children. The book offers a wealth of information and support - particularly about the issue of disclosing the sexual abuse to family members and others. I highly recommend it to survivors and their advocates. Professionals working with this population will find the book particularly valuable."

- Beverly Engle, MFT Author of "Partners in Recovery"

HEALING FROM THE TRAUMA OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE:
THE JOURNEY FOR WOMEN
by Karen A. Duncan

First, a disclaimer: I am not an expert on helping women to heal from childhood sexual abuse. Duncan is. And clearly her book proves this. After almost 20 years of providing support for women who are in need, she has ample stories and theoretical frameworks to share. And apparently at least some of the women who turn to the book find it to be the best of its kind, if the customer reviews at Amazon.com are any indication.

I am, however, an expert in language, literacy, and rhetoric, so I feel more comfortable critiquing the book from a rhetorical perspective; in other words, how does it communicate its messages and to whom? More about that later.

First I want to praise Healing from the Trauma's depth and positive messages. Duncan does what seems to me an excellent job of structuring the book to mirror the general process of healing, while at the same time acknowledging that no one person's path to health is going to be exactly like any other's. Chapter 5, called "The Stages of Healing" which include "Assessment," "Making the Connection," "Experiencing the Emotions," "Identifying Chronic Problems," and "Integration," reflects the overall structure of the book. Chapter 2, for instance, is "Remembering the Trauma" (Making the Connection), while Chapter 6 is "Prolonged Problems from Childhood Sexual Abuse" (Identifying Chronic Problems). Chapter 8, near the end of the book, is "Moral, Legal, and Family Issues Related to Exposing a Perpetrator" (Integration).

And Duncan does an excellent job of explaining how past trauma affects the present, especially in regards to memory, providing both detailed information for the survivor and theoretical arguments challenging the supposed prevalence of false memory syndrome. After each type of memory is named and described - delayed memory, intrusive memories, selective memories, emotional and body memories, dreams, and flashbacks - a case study is presented to help the reader more concretely grasp the ways the memory manifests itself in daily life. It is Duncan's skill at normalizing parts of the healing process like the necessity of connecting past trauma and present problems that I believe readers will find so inspiring. As Duncan weaves together scholarship, case studies, and stages of healing, she never loses sight of conveying how a woman can heal and that a woman can heal.

Now that Ive put out the praise I can turn to my complaint, and really it's not so much a complaint as a desire. If I were to apply my rhetorical skills and ask who the book's intended audience (consciously or unconsciously) is, I would probably say a well educated woman in an urban environment who looks upon research results as compelling evidence. I'd like to see the precepts of "Healing from Trauma" more widely accessible, and I think this could be done fairly easily. At the end of each chapter Duncan has "Supporting Your Healing," a list of actions that will move a reader along in the process toward a healthy life. I think the actions are overshadowed by all the other content. But it seems to me that they could serve as the foundation for a great workbook that would present a scaled-back version of the book's material while emphasizing the practical. I would bet both therapists and survivors would find such a workbook helpful.

Pat McGann, Ph.D.
Director of Communications
Men Can Stop Rape
PO Box 57144
Washington, DC 20037M