Application of Relational-Cultural Theory With Adolescent Sexual Abuse Survivors

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) can lead to traumatic memories, a sense of isolation, and severe distrust. Moreover, CSA can impede a person’s ability to form healthy relationships over the life span. Thus, attending to adolescent survivors’ relational competencies and relational resiliency is important for their relational health. Although several forms of therapy are efficacious in reducing negative effects of sexual abuse on youth, approaches specifically addressing relational competency and relational resilience of child survivors have received little attention. Thus, the authors of this article discuss the theoretical foundation of relational-cultural theory (RCT) and provide a new model with suggestions for applying RCT to survivors of CSA.

Keywords:

• relational-cultural theory
• child sexual abuse
• adolescent survivor