Recovery and Therapy

Here we provide information about the ‘recovery process’ and therapy, including what promotes recovery and the stages in which it occurs.

We know the word ‘recovery’ can turn off some people. (If that includes you, sorry about that, and please don’t tune out the helpful info here.) Sometimes choosing words isn’t simple or easy.

All we mean by ‘recovery’ is ‘gradual healing,’ a standard meaning found in any dictionary.

The ‘gradual’ part is important. Recovery or healing, including overcoming addictions and other bad habits, occurs in stages. So it really can take time to heal or overcome effects of unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood.

Therapy can be extremely helpful in the healing process, when a man is ready for it. In Get Help we highlight some key issues, like what good therapy involves and how to find a competent therapist in your area.

Here we focus on the ‘stages of recovery’ and some tools therapists have that can be especially helpful to men.

Finally, the books below provide excellent, comprehensive information on the ‘stages of recovery’ from the effects of unwanted or abusive childhood sexual experiences (and other potentially traumatic experiences), and on what’s involved in helpful therarpy.

• Trauma & Recovery, by Judith Herman
• Abused Boys: The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse, by Mic Hunter