My guest this week is Dr. Jessica Bodie, a clinical psychologist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy. We talked mostly about a topic that sadly is all too familiar for so many people, and that’s childhood sexual abuse. Jessica and I both treat adults who have lived through this form of trauma, and are still dealing with the after effects decades later. So this is a painful topic, and also such an important one.

We talked about the shame and self-blame that sexual abuse survivors often feel, and why it’s easy to be self-critical even though it clearly wasn’t their fault. We also talked about effective treatment, and how and why it works. And even though we can’t go back and change the past, we can come to a new understanding of what that childhood pain meant, and those trauma memories no longer have to haunt us. So this is a very hopeful discussion, and I hope you take a lot from it.

Get full access to Think Act Be with Seth Gillihan at thinkactbe.substack.com/subscribe