GEMMA: Child Abuse Survivors

GEMMA: What coping mechanisms do you find to be the most beneficial for child abuse survivors?
RUBY: Well, many survivors experience depression and trauma, and dissociation is also very common. So throughout our lives, we develop avoidant coping, which may be effective for a while, but it is not a sustainable way to cope with one’s feelings. So, I think the most, um, the most…. beneficial coping mechanism is by far approach coping. Approach coping is a way of facing your emotions with supportive resources.
GEMMA: Why do you think that approach coping works so well?

RUBY: Well, I’ll put it this way. Avoidance gives abuse survivors a temporary reprieve from their pain. For a short time, it helps them cope, um...to function normally, to...uh... achieve some relief from their traumatic memories. I will admit, I used avoidance to function for the majority of my life. I mean, it was difficult to face certain realities. However, avoidance coping, as I mentioned, is really not the best strategy to use in the long term. Approach coping is much more difficult, but also, more powerful and beneficial to people really seeking true healing from their past. So, what this entails is facing those emotions in various formats. You know, this can be done through counseling, group support, and other support efforts that allow you to work through the issues, rather than suppress them.
RUBY: You know, this is a very contentious topic and child welfare should always be of prime importance. If a child cannot locate a social worker, they should confide in a trusted adult or child care worker, whether this includes a trustworthy teacher, or even the nurse’s or principal’s office. These adults can intervene and file an anonymous report with social