Counselor Says Victims Should be Encouraged to Talk to Get Counseling

According to CEO of Counseling and Psychological Services, Deshane Gutierrez-Lopez, victims of sexual assault live in a constant state of threat and need talk to someone who is trustworthy in order to get rid of the psychological effects they carry with them.

Deshane Gutierrez-Lopez

Deshane Gutierrez-Lopez, CEO, Founder, Counseling & Psychological Services

“That person is always in a constant state of threat. They don’t feel safe; they don’t feel loved. They question their worthiness and that impacts how they are with their family, how they work towards their goal, if they believe, they work towards their goals. Often times when we think about sexual assault victims, we think about the persons who are alcoholics, about the person who doesn’t want to do anything. But I wanted to highlight is persons who use socially-appropriate forms of coping. They work well in their academic performance or their job performances but they struggle internally with depression that no one realizes. It’s hard for them to really deeply connect with people and that also affect their offspring and now we have a generation of dysfunctional family because there’s so much hurt. Even though their offspring might not have experienced the sexual violence for themselves, they still feel the impact of it. A lot of times people talk about anxiety; they don’t want to experience their emotions because it’s intense or sometimes there is a feeling of numbness, where they don’t have feelings. It’s always difficult, regardless of the age, so whether you were harmed when you were young or when you’re an adult, as you age that continues to linger. So I would always recommend people to get the therapy. Get the healing process.”

Bowman says her NGO has sufficient funds to print sufficient copies of the book to distribute countrywide. Digital copies will also be made available on the Internet.