Sexual Trauma

Sexual trauma is a specific type of traumatic experience that includes sexual coercion, rape, incest, or any talk or touch of a sexual nature that does not feel good to you. It can happen once or repeatedly over time. An event doesn’t have to be violent to be harmful, embarrassing, or traumatic. Feelings of shame, pain, avoidance of sex, or unwanted sexual impulses are common in people who have experienced sexual trauma.

Our clinicians at The Banyan Tree in Athens, GA understand that it can be difficult to talk about a traumatic experience or about sex in general. Several of our counselors specialize in treating sexual trauma, and the work is shaped by what feels safe and right for you — never forced.

What Sexual Trauma Can Look Like

Sexual trauma doesn’t have to fit a specific definition or have happened recently for therapy to help. Common experiences our therapists support clients through:

• Childhood sexual abuse, with effects that surface in adulthood
• Sexual assault, including by a partner, friend, or stranger
• Coercion in dating, marriage, or other intimate relationships
• Medical trauma (invasive procedures, lack of consent in clinical settings)
• Religious or community trauma involving sexuality and shame
• Unwanted experiences that don’t fit a clean category but still feel wrong

You don’t have to call your experience “trauma” to come in. Many clients come in unsure of what to call what happened — that uncertainty is part of what therapy can help with.

Our Approach

Modern trauma therapy is designed to integrate the experience so it stops controlling your nervous system — not to force you to relive it. Your Banyan Tree therapist will spend early sessions on stabilization and resourcing before any direct processing of memories begins. You set the pace.

The work draws from approaches matched to your situation: EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), somatic and body-based work, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and traditional trauma-focused talk therapy. Mindfulness, guided imagery, expressive arts, and relaxation techniques can be incorporated when they help. Together with your counselor, you’ll make the choices that are right for you.

What to Expect

A first session is usually a clinical intake conversation — what’s brought you in, what you’d like the work to address, and what kind of pace and approach feels right. You don’t have to share details of the trauma in the first session (or ever, until you choose to). The Banyan Tree’s intake coordinator can also help match you with a therapist specifically trained in sexual trauma work.