Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) problems as well as Criminal Thinking and Conduct (CTC) could have been rooted deep in the past. Way back in your lifetime or of someone else who is suffering with these ghosts of the past.
Family History.
You might wonder how far back? Trauma can be generational and learned. Ancient memories, thoughts and beliefs can be passed on.
On the other hand, if we are talking about working with a client in the here and now, these problematic patterns can be as far back as when the person was a baby or toddler. Imagine a small, fragile, beautiful little girl who had a babysitter at home; or maybe an aide, a teacher or coach at pre-school, Kindergarten or grade school. Maybe Sunday School or church.
It could be someone’s little princess who was just enjoying a Mr. Rogers or Sesame Street life. The Cookie Monster was amazing.
Offenders are usually known by the victim.
Never imagining this could happen, one day a real monster strikes. A person, probably known to the victim and family does the unimaginable. He or she rapes or otherwise sexually abuses this little angel.
Could this have lasting harmful and painful affects on the victim? Yes they can. They can be imprinted and continue to be hurtful and limiting unless they are reprocessed. You can learn more about that here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/sexual-abuse .
Family in denial.
Parents may want to deny or ignore that this could possibly be true. But they keep seeing and hearing things that don’t make sense. Check here for indications that this may have happened or is happening now to your little angel: boy or girl. https://blogs.psychcentral.com/practical-psychoanalysis/2018/04/11-common-symptoms-experienced-by-victims-of-childhood-sexual-abuse/.
Affects every area of life.
Maybe this is about you and you are searching for answers. If you need to talk with someone about this you can call me now at 808 385 4550. We can talk about ways to be free of the painful beliefs, thoughts and emotions associated with this. Free from the ways you perceive the past, that experience and yourself.
Trauma of being raped, beaten, verbally abused can follow a person for a lifetime. It can limit identity, school performance, education, careers, relationships and lifestyles.
It might be surprising to you to learn that trauma from sexual abuse is a common diagnosis for women in the criminal justice system. Yes – it can lead to substance use disorder (SUD), addiction and crime.
It’s best practices to discover these imprints and limiting beliefs as soon as possible in treatment. If these permission-granting AOD/CTC beliefs are not “reprocessed” many of these folks relapse or recidivate within the first year.
You can learn more about that here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5064859/ .
Learning how to use the Cognitive Behavior Transformer found at the end of the Criminal Justice and Addictions Counseling piece could he helpful. You might need help with the process but it’s in the catalog on this site.
No Charge for Coaching.
If you do purchase this here I will give you two free coaching sessions to help you learn how to make it work for you. Call me anytime. 808 385 4550.
Other resources.
A great resource for you would be work done by Francine Shapiro, PhD., (1948-2019). She did a lot of work in this field. Shapiro explained how your interpretations of the painful events and memories of the past keep you stuck there – in pain.
Learning how to Float Back as she described it – to the painful events and experiences, then reprocess or ‘reframe’ those past events where you were the victim – can set you free. If you’d like to talk about this call me.
Too often, the victims blame themselves. You – may have been blaming yourself all this time. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You were the victim of a criminal committing a crime against you. Francine’s book may help you too. https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Past-Your-Self-Help-Techniques/dp/1609619951