Recovery from rape or assault can seem like a never-ending battle.
However painful and challenging this process may be, we are here to help you heal.
Our main treatment goal is to help you process your assault in a safe environment and help you reestablish safety and connection within your body so that you can begin to get your life back.
Trauma can shatter your view of the world.
Sexual assault and rape can be extremely traumatic and scarring, but you need to remember, you are not alone, and it was NOT your fault.
Regardless of who you were hanging out with, what time of day or night it was, and what you were wearing.
It’s still NEVER your fault.
Using research-proven methods such as Trauma Focused (TF-CBT), we will examine the relationship between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
An important component of healing is challenging irrational thoughts related to self-blame or other distorted beliefs that may have developed as a result of the trauma.
So often, we internalize what happened to us and blame ourselves for what happened to us.
Therapy can help us change our narratives and reclaim a sense of safety, empowerment, and emotional connection.
We incorporate meditation to help you integrate your thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations, and another research-proven method validated for trauma and PTSD called EMDR.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
Sounds complicated, but really it’s quite intuitive.
Basically, during EMDR, the therapist and client work together to identify target memories to focus on.
In addition to visual memories of the trauma, there is often a negative self-belief attached to the event.
For example, the client might believe, “I am unlovable” or “I am a weak person.”
The traumatic memory may continue to be relieved through dreams, flashbacks or generalized anxiety.
EMDR involves bilateral stimulation with either rapid eye movement, touching, or auditory sounds.
It’s been found that this repeated desensitization technique re-processes the memory of the traumatic event and the negative self-beliefs associated with it.
It’ll help you reprocess what happened to you and target other symptoms of the trauma as well, such as anxiety and depression.
The goal of EMDR treatment is to eliminate the discomfort due to unprocessed memories, to teach self-regulation techniques to manage related anxiety, and to change negative self-perceptions into believing in your own sense of safety, control and responsibility.
Whichever therapy modality is the best fit for you, you will leave our sessions with the necessary skills to help you transform and reclaim your life.
What is Rape?
Did you know that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 10 men have been raped, and if you’ve been assaulted as a child, there is an increased chance of assault recurring as an adult?
It’s heartbreaking stuff.
And it’s no wonder so many people suffer mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, phobias, and trauma symptoms subsequent to being assaulted.
Rape is another word for forced sexual intercourse.
It can occur between married couples as well as strangers, and it can take place literally anywhere and happen to people of any gender: men, women, and trans.
It’s even possible to be date raped, which is when the victim is pressured or drugged, and might be unconscious while the sexual activity is going on.
Regardless, all of these actions are considered rape, and can cause significant trauma to the victim.
Rape and sexual assault can lead to both physical and mental after effects.
The physical trauma can include anything from bruises to pain and abrasions in the pelvis, while the mental trauma can include feelings of embarrassment, humiliation, self-blame, or even hopelessness.
It’s extremely important that you get examined at a hospital right away if you think you’ve been raped; the doctors can help treat your physical trauma and take prophylactics for infections you may have been exposed to.
When it comes to psychological trauma, that’s where we step in.
Rape victims can often develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and high-risk behavioral issues, such as engaging in unprotected sex, substance abuse, excessive drinking, and self-harm.
You might even avoid any media that can potentially depict sexual assault, such as the news and certain movies.
These are ways of coping that act as a band-aid to the underlying trauma–which needs to be addressed in order to heal and get your life back.
My LA Therapy
Therapy can successfully improve your life by helping you minimize the anxiety in your life, identify and change underlying thought and behavioral patterns that contribute to your struggles, and provide you with strategies to decrease discomfort while restoring an overall sense of peace.
To experience true and lasting joy in our life, we must face and conquer our pain by healing our underlying trauma and confronting our fears.
See the About Therapy page for a deeper look into this process.
Our evidence-based, scientifically proven interventions are demonstrated by research to be effective in healing trauma, anxiety, depression, and PTSD that may arise from assaults.
We find you the perfect therapist – or your money back.
Promenade
127 Broadway Suite 205
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Venice
130 Ocean Park Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
San Fernando Valley
16055 Ventura Blvd.
Encino, CA 91436.
Brentwood
12100 Wilshire Blvd. 8th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90025
City
10801 National Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
