So, yesterday we went to see counselor for elizabeth. We were very concerned about taking her into anyone. She's been doing so well, and we hate to see her regress again. This counselor helped me understand that it's extremely important that this be done now. Children at this age have no ability to categorize and shelve adult sexual behavior. At this age they (the counselors) focus on putting it all in a box and labeling it. They label it wrong touch. They also work on getting the child to understand that it wasn't their fault, and that they have a voice. It's their body, they have a right to tell someone no.
She told me that for girls, the recovery process is multi-step. There's this first part. The second step comes when they hit puberty. This is the time that girls who were abused earlier in life become promiscuous. They now understand what happened to them, and they need the reassurance that it was not their fault. They need their "wrong touch" box reorganized and relabeled. The next step comes when they get married, or have their first significant sexual relationship. The last step comes when they have kids.
I feel really good about her. She did warn me that elizabeth will regress a little bit in the beginning. That's because she's ripping the scab off. But, as they work thru some of the issues, she'll get better, and she'll start to heal correctly.
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