[joojams]

Recently, my mum and dad found out that I had been raped 2yrs ago after looking through my diarys.*

I'm glad they know and they have been very supportive about it and have suggested that I should see someone to help.

I've had Cognitive Behavioural Therapy before to help with depression but we never spoke about what happened 2yrs ago because I just couldn't bring my self to say it.

I just wondered what therapy would be like if I went to see someone who sorta specializes with rape victims?

And also, due to having depression as well... would I need to see a separate therapist for depression and then another for rape? or can one just do both but then should I go with the specialised therapist or just a regular one?

One more thing... If I went with a specialised one, would it just be focused on the trauma all the time? Because I don't think I can talk about it that much in one go if you know what I mean?

Anyways... any thoughts or experiences are very much appreciated!! I can try and answer questions if I haven't made myself clear in my questions!

Thanks in advance x

Joojams - Sent using my tablet on Tapatalk!

[CANDC]

joojams, sorry for the trauma you went through. Glad your parents are supportive, that can help a lot.

If you had a good working relationship with a therapist, that might be an option to explore just because that level of trust could be there.

If that relationship does not exist or seems like one you can open up in, then another therapist t would be better. Choosing a therapist for such a deep trauma involves interviewing or meeting with a therapist to see if they feel like someone who is non-judgmental and compassionate enough to allow those deep hurts to be opened up and allow them to heal.

Here is another source that offers advice to a rape victim
Raped & Very Angry | Ask the Therapist

it would be advantageous to choose a therapist who specializes in working with rape victims...choose the one who makes you feel the most comfortable and is the easiest to talk to. Studies show that this will be the most productive therapist for you.

[Knittingismytherapy]

Choosing a therapist for such a deep trauma involves interviewing or meeting with a therapist to see if they feel like someone who is non-judgmental and compassionate enough to allow those deep hurts to be opened up and allow them to heal.

Joojams, what CANDC says above rings very true for me as well. I started to see a therapist to work through trauma from CSA, along with generalized anxiety disorder. In the course of that, we have uncovered other issues. I'm seeing only the one T to handle all of the issues. I feel like, for me, it is more about the connection with the T, and his ability to work through it with me.

I'm sorry you've been going through this too. It's really hard to talk about, and I didn't think I could say it, but starting with "I feel like I really need to talk about something, but I don't know how and it's really painful" made a huge difference for me. I was able to slowly bring it up and then it evolved naturally from there with questions from the T. He made it a lot easier, and while I didn't expect to fully talk about it, I ended up letting it all pour out.

I understand your concerns about not being able to talk about it all at once, or for an entire hour every week, and that makes complete sense to me as well. Some weeks we don't talk about it at all, and some weeks, I'm very focussed on it, but my T lets me control that. A good T will let you work at your pace.

[Big Mama]

First off I want to say I am so sorry for what you went threw. I am glad you folks know and care enough about you to suggest a T. (T = Therapist by the way)

I went to marriage counseling with my husband. While in T , I learned to trust my T enough to tell her what happened to me. It took about a year of working with her before I was brave enough to say anything. But I was raped as a teenager. She was the first person I ever told. I didn't even tell my husband.

I was so afraid she was going to pressure me to press charges, or to contact him or something like that. She did not. She said she would not and she did not EVER. My marriage counseling them moved to counseling for trauma. She happens to be a trauma specialist. So we worked with the trauma, depression, PTSD, anxiety issues as well as how it affects our marriage.

We don't talk about it all he time. In fact at first I couldn't talk about it at all. I couldn't say the words or his name, or what he did or anything. I had to write everything and she would read it. I could answer questions but I couldn't start conversations. Two years later the T still mentions it some. She checks on how my thoughts are going, how the dreams are going, checks to see if the depression and PTSD are getting worse. If anything is we work threw it. I seldom mention the rape now a days in T. But she does from time to time because she knows I won't.

It is a worthy investment. The longer you wait the more harm you cause your self. I do think that any T can work with this kind of thing. But if u feel like it is blown off or not addressed then by all means find one who specializes in trauma. They can likely take care of your other needs and issues as well. Best of luck. Feel free to come here and vent and seek support anytime you feel like it. The folks here are very understanding and have lots of love to offer.