The sexual healing journey: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Abuse
The sexual healing journey: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Abuse
Wendy Maltz
New York: Harper Collins Publisher, 1991
The majority of the dozens of books now available on sexual abuse do no more than ventilate the author’s outrage. What makes this new book by Wendy Maltz stand out is that it is both realistic and optimistic — two core ingredients for a useful self-help guide book. It provides plenty of first person reports of childhood sex abuse and of adults who heal well. This gives hope that the “permanently damaged” posture that has been a popular cliche is simply inaccurate.
Today U.S. Health Insurance gives zero to limited reimbursement for individual or other psychotherapy. In Canada, there are long waiting lists of adult survivors of child sex abuse requesting treatment. For those without funds or coverage there are free self-help groups of varying quality from helpful to harmful when they persuade suggestible persons that they are “helpless forever,” blame the past for all current problems, or insist each will be permanently dependent on the group. There are self-proclaimed experts who convince members they are codependents, sexual addicts, recovering adult children — whatever the trendy label may be. To belong, conformity is expected. For many this is anti-therapeutic in that weaknesses are emphasized rather than strengths and growth.
Therefore, there is a definite place for an innovative and therapeutic modality. A well-written guidebook has several advantages: it can be read in total privacy over many long hours conveniently at one sitting or in segments; notes can be made; cultist or group pressures are avoided; and perspective can be gained at a cost of under $20.00. It may be good preparation for brief therapy if dialogue is needed for residual unanswered questions.
The book’s goal is to reclaim each person’s natural heritage of pleasurable sex, by decision to do so. Even when reflex avoidance intrudes this task is given: stop, calm yourself. Affirm the present reality. Choose a new (positive vs. negative) response. Then exercises with diagrams are specifically outlined to involve a committed partner to assist in the healing with a continuum of touch, affection, relaxation, listening and learning about each other as a way to build trust, resolve the past, and attain sexual pleasure.
The Sexual Healing Journey deserves translation into Spanish, French, Portuguese or whatever the specific mother tongue. This will ensure optimum emotional impact and healing for a problem that may occur in any culture at any socioeconomic level.