Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Moses Blvd. Psychotherapy is effective for a myriad of mental health symptoms, with the clinical situation dictating the most applicable method. For episodes of severe stress including acute depression and anxiety, supportive mechanisms crisis interventions and shoring up existing coping skills and strategies may be the best fit.
During periods of relatively milder symptomatology a psychodynamic approach may be utilized with the same patient focusing on self-reflection and a more in-depth exploration. This article focuses on the use of psychotherapy with women working in the sex industry, whether indoor such as strip clubs and cabarets or outdoor such as prostitution and escort services.
These women frequently experience violence in various forms, and most report multiple traumatic experiences, both during their developmental years and while working in the industry. A composite case is included that illustrates some of the supportive and psychodynamic psychotherapy techniques that can be applied when treating these individuals.
Keywords: Supportive psychotherapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, counseling, post-traumatic stress disorder, sex industry, sex worker. Women involved in the adult sex industry e. Important statistics about the sex industry 1 , 2 , 4. Relative to the general population, women in the sex industry experience higher rates of substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, domestic violence, depression, violent assault, rape and posttraumatic stress disorder.
There has been little research on violence against women in the sex industry until recently. Many in society have assumed that women who work in the industry do so willingly and somehow are shielded from sexual and physical harm or that their participation is fully volitional.
