Bodywork for Abuse Survivors

Psychotherapy is the first step in treating survivors of abuse of any kind, but bodywork for abuse survivors is a valid addition to that treatment because typically the body was the focus of the abuse. If the body is left out of the healing equation, then the treatment isn't comprehensive and won't be as effective as if the mind and the body were both brought into the process.

Bodywork for abuse survivors is a specialized and complex field, because of the complicated issues that can arrive because of the abuse and the mental and physical symptoms that can show up and plague a survivor for years after the abuse has stopped. Such a trauma will affect a person throughout his or her entire life and cannot be erased completely, but the goal is to heal the mind and the body as much as possible to keep the abuse from affecting quality of life. A specific aim is to keep future stress that might bring back the memories of abuse from allowing those memories to manifest themselves physically.

Because abuse is usually physical, often the abused person becomes separated from their physical self in a way that many other people could never do. They try to cope by dissociating themselves with their bodies, and they learn to deal with all stress in a similar way. This dissociation helps them cope with the abuse, but in the long-term it makes it difficult for them to reconcile their emotional state with their physical one—the memories of the trauma are kept separate from themselves rather than integrated into the whole, a phenomenon that's believed to help lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Verbal therapy and bodywork for abuse survivors done together can help heal the mind and bring the survivor back in touch with his or her own body and the feelings and sensations they might have been ignoring for years. Because of the abuse, often survivors are easily depressed and anxious, and often resort to addiction and self-harm to help deal with these feelings. Those who practice bodywork for abuse survivors believe that since the body was traumatized, it also much be treated for healing to occur. They understand the psychological dynamics at play, and ask permission before each new touch to make sure the patient feels safe and in control.

Bodywork for abuse survivors isn't ideal for every survivor, however. Factors like the patient's ego strength and potential for psychosis affect whether or not touch therapy is a good idea. While some might never be at a stage to benefit from touch therapy, some thrive from it immediately. After a period of abuse and the dissociation that often occurs, some victims avoid touch, and suffer from lack of intimacy from sexual contact to a simple hug or touch of another's hand on their shoulder. The bodywork can help them see that touch is all right, it doesn't have to be painful or frightening, and that it can feel good.

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