Patrick J. Gannon - Soul Survivors: New Beginning for Adults Abused as Children

A New Beginning for Adults Abused as Children

J. PATRICK GANNON, Ph.D.

Epiphany Media

Epiphany Media is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gannon Psychological Associates

San Rafael, California

SOUL SURVIVORS

A New Beginning For Adults Abused As Children

By J. Patrick Gannon, PhD

Copyright 2014 by J. Patrick Gannon, PhD

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission from the author.

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The Twelve Steps reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

The proposed course of treatment in this book is not intended as a substitute for consultation with a licensed health professional and any application of the contents of this book are at the reader's sole discretion. The author does not speak for Alcoholics Anonymous and any opinions expressed are his alone.

Dedicated to survivors everywhere who show courage in facing their past, resolving the pain and thriving in their future

All the people presented in this book were willing to share their personal stories but not their individual identities as real people living in an imperfect world. All names, locations, and identifying information have been changed to protect their privacy. In some cases, the experiences described and attributed to a particular person may be a composite of two people among the many I interviewed. This was done to fill out the range of experiences and issues faced by survivors universally as well as to provide an extra measure of confidentiality.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the many people and organizations that contributed directly or indirectly to the creation of this book. During my research for Soul Survivors they unselfishly shared their time and knowledge with me in the hope of furthering our mutual cause: the reduction of child abuse in our society and the recovery of adult survivors everywhere who are still struggling with the long-term effects of their abuse as children. I am especially indebted to the staff of Lutheran Family Services in Portland, Oregon, and particularly Dr. Kao Rhiannon and Annette Selmer, M.S., who provided invaluable assistance. I also would like to thank Dr. Robert Burke and Dr. Jeffrey Kahn of Marin Community Mental Health for their efforts in locating interview subjects. During the course of my research, I interviewed many professionals in the child abuse treatment field who provided me with information, research papers, or their unique point of view about select issues. Among those to whom I would like to express my appreciation are Dr. Kathryn Ridall; Dr. Diane Leroi; Dr. Karen Peoples; Dr. Mary Krentz, director of the Child and Family Therapy Center in Martinez, California; and Officer Sandi Gallant, cult crimes specialist of the San Francisco Police Department.

Over the years, there have been several people who have supported my work as a clinician in the child abuse treatment field who I would also like to acknowledge. I would particularly like to thank Dr. Don Cotton who facilitated our men's groups with me and who generously shared his expertise in the group treatment of adult male survivors. Kathleen Baxter-Stern of the San Francisco Child Abuse Council and Dr. Eliana Gil have always been supportive and encouraging dating back to my work in community mental health. I would also like to acknowledge the training I received from Dr. Graeme Hanson, my consultant during my years as program director for a child and family mental health clinic and Shirley Cooper, L.C.S.W., for her unique clinical perspective on child abuse as well as her thoughtful comments on many segments of the manuscript.

Several people contributed to the preparation and editing of the manuscript who I would also like to acknowledge. First, I want to thank Joanne Harenburg, my transcriber and secretary, who diligently entered the hours of interview transcripts into my computer. In addition, I would like to thank the late Ms. Jamie Rothstein, my editor, and Philip Lief, my former agent, for believing in this project and supporting the publishing of the first edition. I also appreciate the enthusiasm of the people at Prentice Hall Press including PJ Dempsey, Gail Winston, and Marilyn Abrahamwho patiently extended my deadline in the hopes of getting this information out sooner rather than later.

The timely help I received from my friends in the form of dinners, advice, and encouragement made it possible for me to plow forward toward completion. I would like to thank David and Teri, Kelly, Ruth, Alan, Bob and Mary, Jeff and Mary, Mark and Sally, and Jeanne and Gary for their unique contributions. In particular, I would like to express my gratitude for the support I received from Dr. Josiane Lismay who is also a psychologist and specialist in the treatment of adult survivors of child abuse.

Finally, I would like to thank the many people I interviewed, some of whose stories are contained in this book. Your honesty and courage in detailing your past abuse and subsequent recovery is the backbone of Soul Survivors and provided me with the inspiration I needed to complete this work. I hope my words do justice to your experience.

As an arrow pierces the heart, the pain envelopes my body.Each breath drawn takes away precious moments of a terminating existence.Beaten eyes slowly close to the realization of the world around me.Split lips beg for the sweet surrender to a fruit-giving life.Only wrinkles and shame flourish through years of despair and conflictThen, the night cries out with a light of reassuranceThere must be something waiting for me at the end of this torment.I am alone now, yet my soul will live forever.-Leigh Anne, adult survivor
(written at age 16))

Publishing this eBook edition of Soul Survivors: A New Beginning for Adults Abused As Children by J. Patrick Gannon, PhD is a milestone for the Adult Survivors of Child Abuse (ASCA) Self Help Program and its sponsoring organization, The Norma J. Morris Center. Soul Survivors and the three-stage, 21 step recovery program described in the book formed the theoretical backbone of the ASCA program when we launched the program in 1993. Now, some twenty-four years after its original publication of Soul Survivors, we are bringing the book and program back together to create a new and revised resource for the global community of adult survivors. This new eBook edition integrates elements of the ASCA recovery program into the original text, allowing Soul Survivors to function as a "big book" for ASCA meetings and meeting providers. Most importantly, Soul Survivors is now available to survivors worldwide through the ASCA website and other online book distributors.

We are truly excited to collaborate with Dr. Patrick Gannon on this eBook publication. Patrick is a respected psychologist in the San Francisco Bay Area, and as the Clinical Director of the Morris Center was one of the founding members of the original Leadership Council that developed ASCA. At that time, Patrick had become a local leader in the adult survivor movement in San Francisco and a specialist in treating male survivors of sexual abuse. Soul Survivors was the culmination of his commitment to educate about child abuse and recovery on a wider level.

Prior to 1989 when Patrick first published Soul Survivors, the idea of a self-help program for adult survivors of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect was both revolutionary and unrealized. There were some professional groups for female incest survivors as well as an organization for perpetrators of sexual abuse, but a program for both male and female survivors who suffered from one or more types of abuse did not exist.

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