Breaking Free Workbook: Practical Help for Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

by Carolyn Ainscough, Kay Toon

The effects of child sexual abuse haunt the survivors into adult life, in guilt and shame, depression and anxiety, eating disorders, fear of relationships and sexual problems. Carolyn Ainscough and Kay Toon draw on their experience and the accounts of survivors to offer a book packed with practical suggestions for overcoming the effects of abuse. The Workbook can be used alongside Breaking Free or on its own, and lays a greater emphasis on practical exercises to work through the problems. Both will be enormously useful to survivors of abuse and those who care for them.

Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Health, Abuse

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2000

Reviews

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Breaking Free Workbook is meant to help male and female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. It is about understanding present problems a survivor might have, keeping safe, coping strategies, dealing with guilt and self-blame, and assessing the feelings you might have about yourself and others. The book also has a chapter called ‘The past, present and future’. In it, the reader can evaluate how their situation has changed as a result of working with the book, and what could be done next. You can also find excellent sources of help and a short bibliography.

In contrast to other workbooks of this kind, the Breaking Free Workbook uses a rather clinical approach in its different exercises. Several of the exercises are a lot like checklists to see if a condition of trauma applies to you, and this is where it starts being really challenging. Lists that you can use to see if maybe you show symptoms of anxiety, ptsd, shame, and so many more possible problems are only one part. Some of the exercises will necessarily lead you back into memories, for example to write down what a perpetrator has said in certain moments, so that you can identify such phrases as triggers. Doing so can be extremely helpful, but it can also be very straining. The authors are aware of possible problems and have dedicated a good part of this workbook to the topic of physical and emotional safety. They also recommend that support could be necessary in some moments, whether it is friends, family, local services or organizations. Before working on the more challenging exercises, readers are led through several preparations to create a safe environment for them. Part of that is also not to rush, keep some distance, and taking care of yourself after the exercise.

What is great about this workbook are the additional explanations, e.g. what is a trigger, what is a flashback, what is ptsd, or what is a panic attack. The explanations are concise, to the point, and the following exercises help a lot in understanding to what degree a problem might be applicable to the reader.

All exercises include example answers from other survivors. This is not only helpful because you get an idea about the intention of the exercise, but it also shows you that you are not alone with your problems. In conclusion, the Breaking Free Workbook is an extremely useful book that can help survivors find a way into a future that is less of a burden than their past might have been. Although the book focuses on childhood sexual abuse, it is definitely just as useful for other survivors.
6 out of 5 stars.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This workbook is a nice mix of information, exercises, and examples of how to do them. I like the way this is put together. However, some of the exercises are a bit cramped, which is a matter of layout. I used a paperback copy and don’t know whether there is a kindle version with a different layout. Nevertheless, the book is good, easy to use, and filled with many helpful exercises. 4.5 out of 5 stars.