Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality after Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control

by Tabitha K. Westbrook, Tabitha Westbrook

If you’re a survivor of sexual harm, recovering your sexuality is possible. You are worthy of good care.

The toxic effects of sexual trauma and abuse can be devastating and lasting. Victims’ ability to experience healthy sexuality, even if they free themselves from the abuse, is often shattered.

If sexual abuse, violence, or coercive control is part of your story, certified sex addiction therapist (CSAT) and trauma specialist Tabitha Westbrook wants you to you are not alone, and healing is possible. In Body & Soul, Healed & Whole, Tabitha draws on her specialized expertise, her own personal story of abuse, and a deep knowledge of Scripture to create a safe and compassionate place for you to start recovering – or even finding - the healthy sexuality God intended for you.

With honest wisdom and empathetic understanding, Body & Soul, Healed & Whole will help you discover how

process your story of abuse—whether it occurred as a child, within marriage, or by someone in a position of power—without shame,develop healthy relationships with God, with ourselves, and with others (including those of the opposite sex),reconnect with your good body and establish a foundation for healthy sexuality, whether currently married or single,identify and address any spiritual abuse that may have taken place within sexually abusive relationships,understand what arousal structures are, how they’re formed and distorted by abuse, and how to shift them when needed for healing, andincorporate practical skills for self-care during your healing process.Sexuality does not have to be forever broken. Rest assured in a God who understands and loves you in the deepest of deep ways—and begin your journey toward wholeness, restoration and healing.

256 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2025

Reviews

[Tabitha Westbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this book, so of course I'm a fan! But in all reality, I tried very hard to bring a book full of honesty, my own story, and the stories of clients and women I've worked with over decades and the honest, non-legalistic path to healing we've found. I hope it helps all who read it.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for people helpers and survivors. Tabitha Westbrook writes as both a clinician and a survivor bringing a commitment to a Biblical ethic and compassion for those who have been affected by sexual trauma. Packed with insight, resources and practical tools for healing - this book is one you will want on your shelf for reference and for recommending to others.

[Christie Lacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Body & Soul, Healed & Whole, licensed professional, Tabitha Westbrook, invites the reader not only to journey into their own healing, but also into her own. Tabitha’s brilliant, hard (and holy) earned wisdom has come at a great cost and she has committed her life to helping those who’ve endured abuse of all kinds. This book is a kind and compassionate invitation to healing and Tabitha does not shy away from speaking directly and explicitly to various topics that the Christian world often stays away from. Tabitha offers helpful and needed practices for healing and regulation. If you’re in a helper role, either professionally and especially ministerial, read this now, and learn how to help heal and not produce more harm.

[Ashlee Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tabitha brings her experience as both a licensed professional and a survivor of abuse together with honesty, wisdom, and compassion. This book is a kind invitation to move toward wholeness after sexual harm, and is filled with practical and helpful practices to support healing and regulation. While my thoughts on a few points differ slightly from the author, I found this to be an incredibly helpful resource for understanding how to walk well others through abuse.

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finishing this new book by @tabithathecounselor and I’m just so impressed with how comprehensively she covered this complex topic of recovering sexuality after trauma, abuse, and coercive control. She is more than qualified to engage us on this topic and I found it full of clinically informed and biblically grounded wisdom. If you have experienced these circumstances yourself or minister to/help those who have, this is a worthy resource to have. She even included a section of topics we might not dare ask about but that certainly need to be brought up-and handles them so graciously. She even has a helpful section on finding a counselor and what particular therapeutic modalities are available to survivors. 10/10!