Therapy for childhood rape flashbacks and nightmares

I’m really sorry this happened to you. Flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive memories are common after childhood sexual abuse, and they can improve with the right trauma-focused therapy. None of it was your fault, and you should not have to describe every detail before treatment begins.

Therapies that can help

• EMDR can help your brain process traumatic memories without needing you to recount every detail.
• Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy or Cognitive Processing Therapy can reduce flashbacks, avoidance, guilt and shame.
• Imagery Rehearsal Therapy can help when nightmares are frequent or severe.
• If you become overwhelmed, therapy may begin with grounding, sleep and emotion-regulation skills before deeper memory work.

Look for a qualified therapist who specifically works with childhood sexual trauma and uses one of these approaches. In the first session, you can ask, “What trauma therapy do you use, and how will you keep the pace safe for me?” A good therapist will explain each step, let you pause and never pressure you to relive what happened.

If the memories become so intense that you might hurt yourself or cannot stay safe, move away from anything you could use to harm yourself and stay with a trusted person nearby. Zara can stay with you here while you work out the next step.