By Bilingual Trauma Therapist Yesenia Hernandez and Bilingual Trauma Therapist Bianca Gonzalez
Nidia* began services with CAC’s Mental Health program in June 2023 after having disclosed sexual abuse by a family member as a young child. Nidia initially refused therapy, and it was through the repeated encouragement of her CAC Advocate that led her to give therapy a chance. Upon meeting Trauma Therapist Yesenia Hernandez, Nidia was willing to participate in three sessions and then decide if she wished to continue. Though Nidia was 12 and nearly seven years had passed since the abuse took place, she expressed feeling as though the abuse “haunted” her every day. At the onset of therapy, Nidia felt tremendous shame, sadness, hopelessness, irritability, guilt and intrusive memories of the abuse. Nidia also struggled with affection and physical closeness with even her closest family.
Nidia decided to remain in therapy and regularly participated in individual and some dyadic therapy sessions. Nidia was initially soft-spoken, appeared physically inhibited and felt self-conscious both in and out of sessions. Therapy focused on identifying her emotions, learning about the effects of trauma, learning and applying mindfulness-based coping skills, increasing self-compassion and confidence and processing emotions related to the abuse. Sessions also zoomed in on processing guilt and responsibility for the abuse, which led Nidia to make the powerful realization that the abuse was not her fault.
At the same time that Nidia was working through her trauma, her mother began therapy with Trauma Therapist Bianca Gonzalez. Nidia’s mother was struggling with depression and self-blame, particularly because the abuser was a relative. Additionally, the disclosure of the abuse led to alienation from some family members, further complicating her emotional state. She also carried her own history of trauma and sexual abuse, and the challenge of managing multiple children with diverse needs, all while lacking a strong support system.
Bianca tailored their work to address her specific emotional challenges. Together, they focused on processing feelings of guilt and responsibility, helping her to separate her sense of self from the abusive situation. Bianca also emphasized the importance of self-care and assisted in developing healthy coping mechanisms and establishing appropriate boundaries with others.
For Nidia, once she realized that the abuse was not her fault, she made great strides in her life. Nidia felt and displayed increased confidence and self-acceptance, greater comfort with physical closeness with close family and friends, engaged in extra-curricular activities, expressed her emotions to her parents and improved her academic life. Nidia’s parents described her as a confident adolescent that finally felt comfortable with healthy affection with her parents and laughed again.
Nidia’s mother, through her work with Bianca, has gained the ability to support her daughter's healing without internalizing the blame, and she has also learned to set firm boundaries with others. As a result, her self-esteem has improved, and she is no longer struggling with depression.
Nidia participated in therapy for 1 year when termination from therapy took place. Nidia expressed feeling “free from the abuse after feeling trapped during all those years”. Nidia expressed gratitude and recognized that although initially scary, therapy was a powerful tool that helped her recover and felt willing to seek it if needed in her future.
*Name changed to protect the child’s identity.
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