Exploring the relational impact of CSA in the female adult survivor population in therapy: an existential perspective and phenomenological enquiry

This doctoral research project explores the lived experience of social relationships for adult women who have experienced a single episode of non-familial childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and who are in therapy. The literature review demonstrates that CSA is a common problem with serious psychological, social, and physical consequences. While the relational consequences of CSA feature in the existing research for women in therapy, there is a lack of published evidence of the lived experience of these consequences, particularly from an existential perspective. This study conducted a phenomenological exploration of this from the existential perspective by asking the research question ‘How do adult female survivors of a single episode of non-familial CSA experience relatedness with others in their social world?’ The study was centred on a sensitive and reflective approach in which eight purposely sampled individuals who met the carefully chosen and ethically guided inclusion criteria were interviewed by the researcher using a semi-structured conversational interview. Van Manen’s (1997) hermeneutic phenomenology was used to provide a deep understanding of the participants’ experience using the hermeneutic circle. The meanings identified in each interview were distilled into three essential themes. These were:

• The primacy of seeking relational safety;
• Social isolation and solitude; and
• Intentional social moderation.

This paper provides an understanding of how their relational interactions in the external world and the meaning of these interactions are affected by their earlier life experience. It adds context to the existing studies and reinforces the value of the therapeutic relationship for survivors of CSA. Recognition of these potential issues may help aid the construction of understanding and meaning of relationships for individuals engaged in therapy. Given the limited generalisability and the deliberately narrow inclusion criteria further research should focus on the experience of broader groups of survivors.