Childhood Sexual Abuse: Trauma and Healing in Groups through the Symbolic Presence of the Mother and the Phallus

Abstract

This article examines the theory and research from psychotherapy, neuroscience and outcome studies that help to understand the impact of childhood sexual abuse and its treatment in groups. When treating trauma in groups, attention needs to be paid to containment, and as such there is an analysis of the relationship between containment and structure in group analytic groups. The concept of the cultural mother, related to the mature matrix is outlined. The journey in an analytic group from being stuck, and repeating traumatic relationships, to freedom in being ‘reborn’, is mediated through the significance of the maternal and phallic symbols as they are active and experienced within the group analytic group.

Keywords

child sexual abuse containment structure cultural mother trauma

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