Loving Someone Who Has Sexual Trauma: A Compassionate Guide to Supporting Your Partner and Improving Your Relationship

(Paperback)

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Description

If your partner is a survivor of sexual trauma, they may experience anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or feel triggered by intimate situations. And you may feel confused, overwhelmed, or unsure of how to support them. This gentle guide will give you the tools you need to help nurture intimacy and trust, and cultivate a secure relationship.

In Loving Someone Who Has Sexual Trauma, marriage, family, and sex therapist Megan Lara Negendank offers self-compassion and attachment-based communication skills to support your partner. You'll also learn powerful, trauma-informed techniques and strategies to help you understand the full impact of your partner's past experience, increase feelings of safety and connection, and ultimately improve your relationship in the here and now.

In this gentle guide, you'll discover:

- Communication skills to help promote trust
- How to avoid or deescalate from common triggers
- How to identify attachment styles and soothe conflict patterns
- Emotional and physical bonding skills

If you're ready to move beyond fear, anger, and disconnection to a thriving intimate relationship where you both can feel loved, safe, and connected, this book can help you get started.

Reviews

"Although resources for survivors of sexual trauma abound, very few exist for their intimate partners. Partners play a crucial role in the day-to-day lives, sexual experiences, and healing journeys of survivors. It can be difficult to understand reactions and coping mechanisms a survivor may express. To know what to say or how to react. Negendank's work is a pivotal asset in helping alleviate relationship distress while increasing intimacy and pleasure."
--Natasha Helfer, LCMFT, CST-S, group practice director at Symmetry Solutions, host of the Natasha Helfer Podcast, and director of religion and mental health treatment at the Buehler Institute--Natasha Helfer, LCMFT, CST-S
"Finally, a compassionate, realistic, and helpful guide in supporting our intimate partners healing from sexual trauma! So much individual healing happens through our relationships, and yet, there has been a void of resources supporting partners of survivors navigating this part of the journey. As a therapist who has been waiting for practical and accessible support like this, I cannot wait to share this book with my clients!"
--Maegan Tanner, MA, AMFT, APCC, therapist working in private practice with individuals and couples--Maegan Tanner, MA, AMFT, APCC
"Megan has shed light, compassion, and hope on a sorely under-discussed topic: how to best support a partner with a sexual trauma history. As a fellow trauma therapist, I deeply respect the way Megan has approached this topic with a wonderful combination of psychoeducation, coping skills, and stories to equip partners of those who have experienced sexual trauma to both show up for them and for themselves."
--Annie Wright, LMFT, licensed psychotherapist, relational trauma recovery specialist, and trauma therapy center founder--Annie Wright, LMFT
"Megan's approach is validating and compassionate. The couples' stories she shares are relatable, inclusive, and cover a broad range of how people and relationships are impacted by the ripple effects of sexual trauma. Her book creates space for self-reflection and personal growth, and it offers practical strategies you can begin implementing right away, all while feeling like Megan is right there with you guiding you through your own healing process."
--Ivy Griffin, LMFT, CAMFTCertified Supervisor, owner/director of Thrive Therapy & Counseling, a team of therapists specializing with highly sensitive people and trauma--Ivy Griffin, LMFT, CAMFT Certified Supervisor
"Megan's warmth, wealth of experience, grounding in research, and authentic voice make Loving Someone Who Has Sexual Trauma an essential and accessible resource for all those who want to help create healing spaces for survivors of sexual trauma."
--Susan DuBay, MA, LMFT, internal family systems trauma psychotherapist working in private practice with individuals and couples--Susan DuBay, MA, LMFT
"Negendank has delivered a practical guide filled with prompts, applications, and succinct psychoeducation surrounding the realities of sexual trauma and how it exists in and around us. Her words provide empathy, compassion, and support for readers across the board."
--Ashley Rakela, LMFT, relational art therapist for individuals, couples, and families in private practice--Ashley Rakela, LMFT
"Sexual trauma survivors and their partners often face the aftermath of trauma and abuse alone. Loving Someone Who Has Sexual Trauma offers a new path toward hope and healing. With warmth and experience, Megan guides partners of sexual trauma survivors in supporting themselves, their partner, and their relationship."
--Daylyn Musante, LCSW, licensed psychotherapist specializing in relationship therapy for couples and individuals--Daylyn Musante, LCSW

Author Bio

Megan Negendank is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a certified sex therapist. She is the founder of Love Heal Grow, a psychotherapy center in Northern California where she specializes in trauma-informed relationship-focused psychotherapy for survivors of trauma and their partners. She has been featured as a relationship expert on PBS, NPR, and in Sacramento Magazine.