Twelve women and their stories: A thematic analysis of the pre and post self-narratives of female survivors of childhood sexual abuse who underwent hospital-based group trauma therapy

The importance of treating women with histories of childhood abuse has been well established. The efficacy of the Women Recovering from Abuse Program (WRAP) has also been investigated and established. The aim of the current qualitative study was to understand how women with a history of childhood abuse experienced WRAP, an intensive group treatment program based out of Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. Thirteen women were interviewed pre- and post- treatment using the Self Assessment Interview (SAI). A thematic analysis was conducted on both the pre- and post- interviews that identified theme hierarchies for these two sources of data. These findings deepen our understanding about how participants view their trauma histories, relationships, self-concept, hopes for treatment, symptoms, met or unmet expectations, goal attainment, and impressions of the therapy itself. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.