Magazine

Sensitive Treatment for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
by Claudia Carver

A recent Canadian study, 'Toward Sensitive Practice: Issues for Physical Therapists Working with Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse,' Carver states that "the incidence of childhood sexual abuse is alarmingly high," and "that survivors make up a large portion of touch therapists' clientele." Carver writes that "childhood abuse is often described as a violation of body, boundaries and trust." With the suggestions that carver offers in her article "touch therapists can become more sensitive" to childhood sexual abuse survivors. This allows practitioners to create safe environments which enable all clients to "take charge of what happens to their bodies." Included in Carver's article are statements made by clients participating in the study that offer keen insight into their experiences with touch therapists. She concludes her article with a quote from Jules Rothstein, Ph.D., P.T., editor of Physical Therapy: Although abuse survivors have unique needs...they need to be considered as individuals," and that "all patients and all practitioners carry baggage as we journey through life."