The Surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse Workbook guides readers through a series of exercises, charts, and checklists aimed at recognizing, understanding, and working on the problems resulting from childhood sexual abuse. The exercises are divided into four parts: Understanding Your Present Problems and Keeping Safe; Guilt and Self-Blame; Feelings about Yourself and Others; and Looking to the Future.

'This book will be enormously helpful to those who have endured sexual abuse' Nursing Times This classic book has helped many thousands of people to manage the impact that childhood sexual abuse has had on their lives. The positive and optimistic approach continues to empower survivors to break free from the past. Now with signficantly updated resource and further help sections, this latest edition by clinical psychologist Kay Toon acknowledges the types of abuse that have come to light more recently, such as street exploitation, and abuse by celebrities, politicians and football coaches, as well as the use of digital technology to groom children and young people. Breaking Free is regularly recommended by counsellors, by media agony aunts and psychotherapists. A Department of Health project provided copies of Breaking Free and the Breaking Free Workbook to NHS Mental Health Provider Trusts. It is ideal both for those seeking therapeutic support and for those providing such support. 'The voice of the cowed, betrayed and helpless sexually abused child speaks powerfully throughout this book.' British Journal of Psychiatry 'The way the book instils hope is inspiring' Journal of Social Work Practice

Understanding the past-and breaking free from it-is the key to surviving childhood sexual abuse. This book can help ease the journey, with discussions of the damage caused by abuse; anxiety, fears, and nightmares; depression and low self-esteem; eating disorders and negative body image; feelings toward the abuser, and how to overcome problems and work toward prevention.

As a survivor of sexual abuse in childhood, you may find that its effects continue to haunt you - bringing guilt and shame, perhaps depression and anxiety, eating disorders, troubled relationships and sexual difficulties. But although you can't alter the past, you can change the present and the future. Breaking Free, by Kay Toon and Carolyn Ainscough, draws on their nationally recognized and pioneering work as clinical psychologists giving a voice to the Survivors of child sexual abuse. It uses their courage and experiences to help other survivors face their past and take steps towards a better future. This new edition of the accompanying workbook now refers to types of abuse that have come to light more recently, such as street exploitation, and abuse by celebrities, politicians and football coaches, as well as the use of digital technology to groom children and young people. Practical exercises work step-by-step on the problems that result from being sexually abused as a child. They are designed to present survivors with different ways to think about the past, and to arm you with new strategies to move on from the problems that disrupt the present, and look forward to the future. Exercises like these can be very beneficial, but they can also be painful. They can bring up strong feelings, so at every stage your safety and well-being are the first concern, and the book includes essential coping strategies for getting the level of support you need. This practical book will be enormously useful for survivors of sexual abuse, and may also help those who have been abused emotionally or physically. Therapists will also find it a useful resource to use with clients, and both this book and Breaking Free are regularly recommended by professionals in the NHS and also in the media.