This article discusses the repercussions of sexual abuse in the long run and analyzes symptoms and complaints presented in psychotherapy by adult women who were victims during childhood and adolescence and its relation to the specialized literature. It verifies psychotherapeutics issues: the moment when the abuse is reported, the treatment conduction and the benefits of psychotherapy. A retrospective research of documental character was carried out in a random sample of 90 clinical records of women between 20 and 40 years old assisted in brief psychotherapy, of which 10% had suffered sexual abuse. A list of questions offered analyses indicators about the abuse situation, the clinical situation and the psychotherapeutic process. It was observed that the symptoms persist until adult life, what hinders the victims’ social and affective adaptation. The results reinforce the need of a deeper understanding of the psychotherapeutic service offered to the victims of sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse; Woman; Psychotherapy; Clinic school
