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Integrating Internal Family Systems and Solutions Focused Brief Therapy to Treat Survivors of Sexual Trauma

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Abstract

In a recent study 56% of women and 37% of men were survivors of childhood sexual abuse. These individuals who experience sexual trauma may experience depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or substance use disorders (Devlin et al., in Fam J 27(4):359–365, 2019). While there are several treatment approaches specifically developed to target trauma and its effects, (e.g., trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) we propose that integrating internal family systems therapy (IFS) and solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) offers a brief, systemic way to improve family relationship patterns in families where one member has experienced sexual trauma. A case vignette is used to show the integration of these two approaches.

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Data Availability

The case vignette used is fictitious and does not pose any concerns to confidentiality.

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  1. Texas Tech University, Lubbock, USA

    Ethan Ryan Jones, Danielle Lauricella, Carissa D’Aniello, Maggie Smith & Justin Romney

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  1. Ethan Ryan Jones
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  2. Danielle Lauricella
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  4. Maggie Smith
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Each other contributed original work to the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ethan Ryan Jones.

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Jones, E.R., Lauricella, D., D’Aniello, C. et al. Integrating Internal Family Systems and Solutions Focused Brief Therapy to Treat Survivors of Sexual Trauma. Contemp Fam Ther 44, 167–175 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-021-09571-z

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