Therapy

Therapy and support are critical in the healing process to reduce the long-lasting effects of sexual violence. We offer individual, couples, family, and group psychotherapy for survivors of the assault, significant others and family members ages 12 and older.

Our Master's level therapists are trained and have extensive experience in treating sexual trauma. We understand the impacts that this specific type of trauma has on the mind, the body and the soul, and we know best practice techniques to help you through it.

Therapy at SACASA is individualized.  Depending in your needs, your therapy may focus on the psychological, relational, behavioral, cognitive (the mental process related to perception, memory, judgement and reasoning), physical, and spiritual outcomes of sexual violation and violence.

Therapy is available in English and Spanish as well as many other languages through the use of bilingual staff and/or certified interpreters.

Therapy & Support Groups

Call for information about our current groups. 

About Our Therapists

The Therapists at SACASA come from a wide variety of diverse backgrounds and expertise areas, which we hope makes you feel comfortable that you have access to the best treatment.

Because of the nature of the trauma-based therapy we provide, it is common for members to have a valid concern about the gender of their therapist before entering into the therapeutic process.

We have male and female therapists for SACASA clients.  The gender of a therapist may be a trigger for a survivor, based on the gender of their abuser. For example, many female survivors were abused by a male, so working with a male therapist may be a trigger. If this is the case for you, it may not be the right choice at this time in your trauma work to consider working with a therapist who is the same gender as your abuser. Many personal factors go into your decision.

However, consider the following benefit of working with therapist who is the same gender as your abuser: It may help your build a strong therapeutic relationship with someone the same gender as your abuser, repair some traumatic experiences that you have had, and help to regain your trust in the world as you interact with new people and have new experiences.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is also available. EMDR is proven to be effective for the treatment of trauma.  EMDR consists of eight phases including "having the patient recall distressing images while receiving one of several types of bilateral sensory input, such as side to side eye movements" 1. To learn more about EMDR, please visit www.emdria.org.

Through our Therapy Services, we:

  • Seek to alleviate the trauma of sexual assault through specialized therapeutic services to recent and past victims/survivors, their families and friends.
  • Facilitate the transformation of victim (an individual who has been harmed and is hurting) to a survivor (an individual who is healing and is able to return to regular activity).
  • Provide referrals to appropriate community resources.
  • Advocate for victim rights and increased resources.
  • Create and participate in activities to raise community awareness relating to the biological, psychological, psycho-social impact of sexual assault.
  • Work in partnership with other departments of SACASA, as well as with other organizations in the community, state and nation-wide to prevent sexual violence.

Our guiding principles:

  • All forms of sexual violence are rooted within a socio-political and cultural context, and conditions that promote sexual violence require change.
  • Traumatic events have a psychological impact that may develop into serious, painful and long-lasting disruptions in the survivor’s life.
  • We reject viewing responses to trauma as pathological.
  • We do not overlook even the most severely disabling psychological issues.
  • We create a safe, facilitating environment for the exploration and emotional understanding of relevant issues.
  • We use a variety of clinical modalities (individual, couples, family, group) and treatment approaches, including EMDR, to address our clients’ needs.
  • We focus on restoring dignity and empowerment.
  • We partner with people, not symptoms or diagnostic categories.
  • We endeavor to be optimally responsive.
  • We affirm and appreciate cultural diversity.

Who we are and what we do:

  • We are trained, credentialed professional clinicians who provide an assessment session and psychotherapy to individuals, couples and families.
  • We are a training facility for interns in graduate and undergraduate social work, counseling and other human service programs.
  • Our Adjunct Therapist program provides volunteer opportunities for therapists. In exchange for four hours of direct practice, the Adjunct Therapist receives one hour of supervision which may be applied to Board of Behavioral Health Credentialing
  • Our Therapy Team partners with our Crisis Team to provide crisis intervention for persons needing immediate support, information or referral.

Internships:

If you are interested in doing an internship at SACASA, please contact Marta McKenna at (520) 202-1818 or email mmckenna@codac.org.

Feske, Ulrike (1998). "Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder". Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 5 (2): 171–181. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2850.1998.tb00142.x.