Survey for Survivors of Therapist Abuse

Hi everyone, I’d love to get your answers and thoughts on the following questions regarding your recovery and post-abuse experience. Some of the questions require a bit of self-reflection, so feel free to sit with them a while before answering. You can also download a Word version of this survey by clicking here and email it to me when you’re done.

Okay. Ready? Here you go:

1. How long ago was your experience with therapist abuse?
2. How long did the abuse last?
3. Did it involve sex?
4. If it did not involve sex, what was the nature of the abuse?
5. How did it end and who ended it? If you ended it, what was the turning point for you?
6. What things were most helpful to you in getting out of the situation and away from the therapist? (i.e. support from others, resources, sheer willpower and determination…)
7. What has been most helpful to you in your healing and recovery?
8. Are there any resources you’ve found particularly valuable?
9. Is there anything you thought would be helpful to your recovery that has not been?
10. Are there any resources you would have liked to have had during your recovery but didn’t? Is there any information that you wish you’d had access to?
11. What, if any, legal action did you take as a result of the abuse? (i.e. civil, criminal, and/or licensing complaint, etc.) What were the results?
12. How do you feel that taking that action impacted your recovery?
13. If you took legal action, is there anything you wish you had known when you were making your decision to pursue it?
14. *Is there anything you wish you had known at the very beginning, when the abuse started? Is there any information that you believe might have made a difference to your situation?
15. *Looking back, is there anything you believe could have helped prevent the abuse, allowed you to say no more easily, or helped you get out sooner rather than later?
16. Where are you at now in your recovery process? What’s working for you? Where would you like to see improvement?
17. What are your thoughts and ideas on how to prevent therapist abuse?

I want you to really consider questions 13 and 14 before answering them. It’s easy to assume that someone or something might have made all the difference, but would it really have kept the abuse from happening? Please be honest.

Feel free to include other information about your post-abuse recovery or experience that you think might be helpful or relevant. You can also suggest additional questions for the survey.

If you’ve commented on the site before under your own name but would prefer to post your answers anonymously, include that in your comment and I will remove your name from the post (or change it to something different) before publishing it.

Thanks for your participation!