Resources

For Survivors of Sexual Abuse

Welcome

This page was created and is constantly being upgraded with materials for people who are survivors of sexual abuse and trauma. I’ve culled these materials form my work with MenHealing, my private practice and trusted colleagues who work in this field. Feel free to look throughout the page. Although many of these videos are from my work with male survivors I do work with female and survivors of all genders looking on ways to bring somatic practices into their healing journey’s. One the page you’ll find:

Stories of Hope and Truth

Healing Somatic Practices

Educational Videos

Books and Publications

Check back often, I’ll be adding to this page whenever I come into contact with a resource or group I feel may be of help.

Beyond Survival: Skills for Healing, Reframing Trauma

This dynamic animated is brought to you by MenHealing where I serve as a facilitator bringing my somatic, embodiment and mindfulness work to the healing journey of male identified suvivors of sexual abuse.

The video challenges the paradigm of ‘Disorder’ for male survivors of sexual victimization, offering an alternative to overcome victim blaming of survivors.

Reframing Trauma is a message of hope and healing, replacing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI).

Learn more about MenHealing and our Weekends of Recovery for Male Survivors at www.menhealing.org

Exploring the Practice

Below are some videos I've created to give you a chance to explore some techniques and approaches I share with the many people I work with. As a reminder. You know yourself better than anyone. It's for this reason I have the following safety contract with everyone I work with.

The contract states, you are in charge. If at any time exploring things seems uncomfortable we will stop the exploration. The same holds true for the below videos.

There are many ways to approach this work and the below examples are meant to give you a taste of my work and a few possibilities you may be able to use for yourself.

As always feel free to reach out with any questions. Rich@RichardESims or via the contact sheet on this site.

Beyond Survival: Voices of Healing

A video project highlighting the healing journeys of male survivors created by MenHealing where I am proud to serve as a facilitator.

Below are just a few of the stories that people have shared. We encourage you to circulate these videos to others you know who may be interested.

If you are a male survivor and would like to participate in this project, we have an instructional video that provides more information about how you can submit material.

To learn more about MenHealing visit our website here.

Zeke Thomas

Jordan

D.J.

Sean

Sam

Jeff

Drew

John

Thomas

Tisha

Adam

Michael

Tristen

Richard

Hank

Books relating to my work

Many of you have asked if there are any books or articles that could be used to dive deeper into my somatic work, especially after noticing the differences in my approach when compared to other “Somatic” classes taken in the past.

In an effort to share resources I’ve listed a sampling of books written by one of my most influential teachers. They’re all excellent. Depending on how you’re jumping into this work feel free to reach out for recommendations on where to begin.

Trauma

Winning is Healing – Basics: An Introduction to Body Awareness and Empowerment for Abuse Survivors

By: Paul Linden PhD, MSME

An abridged, easier to read version of the full book. It covers the core exercises and concepts in the body-centered approach I have developed for working with abuse recovery. The work is based on the ideas that powerlessness is the core of the trauma wound, and that growth and healing must be anchored by tangible experience of success in controlling the environment. The book focuses on practical, step-by-step exercises which show how to work with breathing, muscle tone, posture, movement and intention to develop body awareness, power, love, effective boundaries, and safety. 150 pages. (Also available in German as a paper book. [i]Das Lächeln der Freiheit: Sebststärkung und Körperbewusstsein—Ein Leitfaden zur Traumabewältigung[/i])

$20.00 USD

Click Here

Winning is Healing: Body Awareness and Empowerment for Abuse Survivors.

By: Paul Linden PhD, MSME

A self-help book for abuse survivors and a resource for professionals. The work is based on the ideas that powerlessness is the core of the trauma wound, and that growth and healing must be anchored by tangible experience of success in controlling the environment. The book focuses on practical, step-by-step exercises which show how to work with breathing, muscle tone, posture, movement and intention to develop body awareness, power, love, effective boundaries, and safety. The book also includes extensive case study examples and a systematic explanation of the theory underlying the awareness and empowerment work. 420 pages.

$30.00 USD

Click Here

The Story Projects

Below are a few of the ‘Story’ projects where I was proud to help create, facilitate, and introduce a somatic approach to empower the men participating in the events to not only face their abuse but to create powerful stories of healing that they went on to share with the world.

1 in 6 men experience sexual victimization in their lifetime. That’s 29,000,000 males in the United States alone. The statistics are astounding, but there are stories behind the statistics.

MENHEALING PRESENTS THE MEN’S STORY PROJECT SURVIVORS’ HEALING JOURNEYS

This powerful original video series is the product of a collaboration between MenHealing and the Men’s Story Project.

The Men’s Story Project is a bold storytelling and dialogue project where diverse men and folks who identify with masculinity share personal stories that take a stand for healthy masculinities and intersectional gender justice.

Michael Guinn

Judson

Andrew

Mike Davis

Jon Gilgoff

Kevin Flood

David

Kevin O’Donnell

Michael Lain

Mike Chapman

Jeff Brandt

Rob

Following the success of MenHealing’s collaborative storytelling event series highlighted above this section, Voices of Healing: Trans & Nonbinary Survivors SPEAK OUT was a collaborative effort between FORGE and MenHealing designed to support, uplift, and foster the resilience of trans and nonbinary survivors of sexual victimization. This project focused on using creative expression to empower survivors to share their story, connect with others, and enhance healing for both themselves and the broader community.