Resurrection After Rape: A guide to transforming from victim to survivor [Paperback]

Matt Atkinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0615209661 | ISBN-13: 978-0615209661

From the resurrectionafterrape website: Looking for a book about rape that's not depressing or boring, but doesn't avoid deeper emotions and questions either? Resurrection After Rape is a deeply-moving, powerful guide for women recovering from rape. What sets this apart from other books on rape is that this one isn't written only by a therapist; it's a collaboration between a therapist (and a male, at that!), and dozens of rape survivors who contribute their insights, journals, and art. Reading this book is like having your own room full of women who have succeeded in rape recovery, all of whom offer their guidance. Issues addressed include shame, depression, substance abuse, self-injury, spirituality, medical care, PTSD, flashbacks, and panic attacks. Contains the journals, art, and stories of dozens of women who have successfully recovered from rape. This is not a book of cliches and superficial suggestions; it acknowledges the real anguish of rape trauma while offering real hope and answers through the first-person narratives of dozens of women who have actually used its methods to recover.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I am a rape survivor and it is in my role as such that I have come to know Matt Atkinson. Matt is one of those rare individuals who brings to his work not only a tremendous intellect and vast knowledge of this subject matter, but more importantly a depth of compassion for and understanding of the experiences of rape survivors, the likes of which exist in no other individual I have ever encountered. This community is lucky to have Matt serving as an advocate and therapist for those who have often felt forgotten, betrayed, weak, misunderstood, or even worthless. I know this because I have felt each of those and more. However, it is by way of Matt s patience and unwavering kindness that I am now able to see myself not as any of those things, but as a survivor. I will know this now for the rest of my life. --Victoria Bailey, Attorney

There is no way to describe how much this book has meant to me. I am trying to gather and absorb as much as I can. I have struggled many years with what happened to me, and sometimes I feel like I have gone nowhere. But, when someone like Matt, who knows what kind of work this actually is, recognizes the effort, it makes me proud of what I have accomplished. I have to admit, I was skeptical. I'm not used to a male being the kind of person who could really understand this. But I had been to therapist after therapist, and none of it was helping. Matt's methods worked--boy, did they work!--and I can't imagine I could have found the same recovery using any other way. This man knows his stuff. He really gets it. And what he's written is SO true and it really answered my questions. There is no way to describe how much this book has meant to me. I am trying to gather and absorb as much as I can. I have struggled many years with what happened to me, and sometimes I feel like I have gone nowhere. But, when someone like Matt, who knows what kind of work this actually is, recognizes the effort, it makes me proud of what I have accomplished. I have to admit, I was skeptical. I'm not used to a male being the kind of person who could really understand this. But I had been to therapist after therapist, and none of it was helping. Matt's methods worked--boy, did they work!--and I can't imagine I could have found the same recovery using any other way. This man knows his stuff. He really gets it. And what he's written is SO true and it really answered my questions. --Leitha Brogan

Matt brings his years of experience working in the sexual violence field to a new audience. His understanding of the intricacies of working with those affected by sexual violence as well as his therapeutic knowledge will be helpful to counselors and anyone who wants to support victims and survivors of sexual violence. --Jennifer McLaughlin, Sexual assault specialist with the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

About the Author

Matt Atkinson is a Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Professional. He is currently the director of a program to establish fifteen new rape crisis programs, including training of nurses, therapists, advocates, and law enforcement. He has worked as a YWCA staff director in prevention of domestic and sexual violence, and he has developed and implemented programs with women's prisons, university sports teams, churches, and Indian tribes. In 2004, he became the first male given the National Award for Outstanding Advocacy and Community Work in Ending Sexual Violence by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. In 2005 he was awarded Most Therapeutic by his professional peers at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma. In 2006 he began to teach college courses on domestic violence and crisis intervention as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma State University-OKC. He also regularly presents trainings at workshops and conferences. Matt has degrees in Art/Human Physiology, Behavioral Science, and a Master's in Clinical Social Work from Oklahoma University. He is married and has two sons, and is an Ojibway Oshkaabewis (pipe-keeper) and regularly participates in ceremonies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: R.A.R. Publishing (June 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615209661
• ISBN-13: 978-0615209661
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matt Atkinson is a Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Professional with a background in work with trauma survivors. He has worked in crisis services in prevention of domestic and sexual violence, where he developed and implemented programs with women's prisons, university sports teams, churches, and Indian tribes.

In 2004, he became the first male given the National Award for Outstanding Advocacy and Community Work in Ending Sexual Violence by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. In 2005 he was awarded "Most Therapeutic" by his professional peers, and he received top marks from client evaluations every year of his practice. In 2006 he began to teach college courses on domestic violence and crisis intervention as an adjunct professor.

In 2009, Atkinson provided a series of all-day training workshops for therapists, funded through grants and organized by the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. The methods presented in "Resurrection After Rape" have become the "gold standard" treatment approach taught to many crisis workers/therapists.

In 2010, Atkinson wrote "You Can Take Your Power Back: A Guide to Your Rights After Rape", a booklet distributed to thousands of victims of sexual assault
in English, Spanish, and Braille.

Atkinson has organized an annual wilderness retreat/recovery weekend for rape and trauma survivors, drawing in participants from across North America and the EU, and featuring a Grammy-award winning musician as guest of honor. Attendance increases each year, and many participants identify it as the single most healing experience of their lives.

Atkinson is currently directing a model program to establish multiple Sexual Assault Response Team services in rural communities so that rape victims will have improved access to crisis care. He still manages to accept frequent requests to speak to university classes, conferences and workshops, such as keynote speaking one of 2009's Domestic Violence Awareness Month events.

Matt has degrees in Art/Human Physiology, Behavioral Science, and a Master's in clinical Social Work. He is married and has two sons, and is an Ojibway Oshkaabewis (pipe-keeper) and regularly participates in ceremonies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars My experience with this book, May 28, 2010

By 

----- - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Resurrection After Rape: A guide to transforming from victim to survivor (Paperback)

I have been trying to pursue different methods of recovery and treatment for the past few months. This is not a bad book by any means, but I was a little let down after reading so many glowing reviews. I am happy it has worked so wonderfully for other people, but my experience with it was not as great, thus the three star rating - because my review reflects my experience only. I have revised this review to say as much, as it may not have been clear in the previous one I submitted.

I feel like this book was written with someone else in mind. It's like being a fly on the wall for a therapy session formulated for a person who is very different from me. There is a lot of talk about overcoming promiscuous sex and shirking the urge to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. If you do not do these things, then there is a very huge chunk of advice here that you may have to skip over. If you do struggle with alcohol/drugs/promiscuity, however, this book handles that information in a non-judgmental manner and you will feel more at home with it than I did.

I would also like to point out that when the author says that the book is meant to be used alongside counseling/therapy, he means it. I know that some women out there may be able to handle this book, the journal assignments, and the memories they dig up on their own... but if you attempt these exercises, you need to have a support network that can help you or come to you immediately if you need them. One of the assignments is to write out your story and how it makes you feel in excruciating detail. Unless overseen by a counselor of some kind, this can be a very dangerous thing to try and tackle by yourself. In fact, when I finally got around to seeing a professional, I described the exercise to her and she said, "Not only is that not necessary for every rape victim, but it's very dangerous for a victim to try that assignment unsupervised."

There are some anecdotes that struck me as a little out of place, but as I no longer own this book I cannot cite specific examples. There is a chapter that deals with religion (specifically God) as well, but my faith was not mentioned anywhere, so this was another chapter that I had to skip through. If you are into faith-based healing and believe in a (most likely Christian) God, this shouldn't be an issue for you, however.

However, the book is not all bad; far from it. Aside from the above, I don't have any complaints. The journal work is very thought provoking and there are many good lessons to be learned. The chapter on "stuck points" was particularly helpful to me, as were a lot of the letters from the patients the author has seen. This book is what convinced me to finally seek professional help. This book HAS helped me. But it also made me feel "othered", and made me aware of the fact that my best option is to find treatment that is especially tailored to help ME, rather than trying to be a catch-all.

I will say that I did love most of the journal assignments and they helped me get out a lot of feelings I was burying or having trouble dealing with. I am a survivor now, and this book helped me to find the treatment that works best for me - it did not do it on its own, as I somewhat naively expected it to.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Work, but I do mean work!, November 4, 2008

By 

Leitha Brogan (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Resurrection After Rape: A guide to transforming from victim to survivor (Paperback)

This work employs the word 'transformation' in it's title, and, if trasformation from the worst that rape leaves us with is what you envision, then, you have come to the right place. I have read, and digested; devoured the words and assignments in this book, and I have grown and, yes, I believe transformed from my work with this book. It is filled with assignments and exercises that stimulate the victim of rape to dig past victimhood, and pursue with fervor, survivorhood. Through the masterful insights of the author, and some very sensitive and heart-rending exercises, (like, writing a letter to the day before), the reader is moved, spiritually and emotionally, to push past the pain of rape, and find the joy of being resurrected to a life free of self-doubt, shame, self-blame, and even self-injury. Matt Atkinson has a gift with this type of therapy, and he makes recovery from the ravages of rape finally feel accessible. Phenomenal, simply phenomenal!

Leitha Brogan

Nurse and Rape Survivor

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing read, October 31, 2008

By 

Trish - See all my reviews

This review is from: Resurrection After Rape: A guide to transforming from victim to survivor (Paperback)

A little over a month ago I received my copy of Resurrection After Rape. In the time since then, I have worked some of the journal assignments and have seen more progress towards recovery than I have since I was first diagnosed with PTSD 10 years ago. This is an amazing book, written by someone who understands the trauma of rape & sexual abuse, who understands the ways that trauma affects the victim's life. Matt leads you through steps towards recovery with understandable explanations of what is going on in your head and with journal assignments designed to really help you deal with your trauma and get past it to live again. I recommend this book to any victim of rape or sexual abuse. It has changed my life. I am no longer a victim.