Videos: Webinars

Men coping with the effects of sexual abuse: Research findings and practice implications

Our first webinar, brought to you by Living Well and Patrick O'Leary, went ahead on Thursday 17th March, 2011 and was a complete success. A 60 minute presentation with powerpoint, drawing on research looking at Australian men's responses to and methods of coping with experiences of childhood sexual abuse. It was followed by thirty minutes of question time and discussion of implications for current practice. Presented by Professor Patrick J. O'Leary.

Biography

Patrick O'Leary Professor Patrick J. O'Leary is Chair of Social Work Studies and Director of the International Child Well Being Research Centre at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom. Patrick has conducted research and academic teaching in Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States. Over the last 20 years, Patrick has conducted research and direct practice with children and families affected by violence and abuse. He has a particular interest in how these experiences in childhood may impact on people throughout the life course. He has published extensively on the long term effects of child sexual abuse on men. Over the last seven years he has been involved in international research on child protection following humanitarian disasters such as war, earthquakes etc this has seen him work in numerous international locations including Lebanon, Sudan, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, and Albania.

Download a PDF document [205 Kb] containing the powerpoint presentation slides.

Men, experience of sexual abuse and questions of sexuality: Prioritising choice

Presented by Dr Gary Foster, manager of the Living Well service, as part of Men's Health Week.

The Webinar is now completed. Thanks so much to all who participated and made it such a success.

About the webinar

The presentation 'Men, experiences of sexual abuse and questions of sexuality: Prioritising choice', identifies and carefully works through some particular challenges that men subjected to sexual abuse can experience in relation to sexuality. In seeking to assist men, it is important to develop our knowledge and understanding of sexuality and sexual abuse and how it can interact and influence men’s experiences. Men who have experienced sexual abuse routinely report confronting:

Questions of sexual identity.
The sexual, bodily aspect of the experience of assault.
The influence of abuse on sexual interests and relationships in the present.

These questions and struggles relating to sexuality and abuse often isolate men, impact on their help seeking behaviour and their overall well being.

In working through these identified difficulties, an emphasis is placed on exploring and understanding problems within their social relational context, on supporting and prioritising choice in enhancing men's well being and sexual lives.

Dr Gary Foster's work and research interests centre on addressing the problems of violence. He currently manages the Living Well service that provides assistance to men who have experienced childhood sexual abuse and sexual assault and to their partners, family and friends. Gary's doctoral thesis Male Rape and the Government of Bodies examined the limits of current understandings and governmental responses to the problem of male rape. He has taught at the University of Queensland in the areas of gender and sexuality, where he helped develop and present an advanced counselling subject in 'Working with family violence'. In 2011, he co-authored Living Well: A Guide For Men. He is interested in developing creative ways of training and talking that assist in diminishing the influence of sexual violence in all people's lives.

You can watch a video recording of the event above, or a PDF version [524 Kb] of the powerpoint presentation used is also available for download.

Keeping everything in mind: Application of mindfulness strategies when working with men and women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse

Topics covered:

Overview of what Mindfulness is and isn't.
Mindfulness as a distress recognition/distress tolerance strategy.
Mindfulness as a self-soothing strategy.
Mindfulness as a way of working with the past in the present.
Mindfulness in the relationship between worker and client and the client's relationships with others.

Presented by Kent Smith for Living Well.

Watch a recording of the event.