Join us Thursday, May 19, 2022, from 2 PM – 3 PM, as we continue to learn about the complex topic of human trafficking and sexual exploitation and its impact, featuring Dr. Abigail Judge. You can register for this free event, here.

Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) frequently occurs in relationships of coercion, trauma bonding, and fierce emotional attachment. Understanding these relationships is critical to healing but can be a source of confusion, frustration and burn-out among service providers. This presentation will focus on the complex psychological relationship between individual and exploiter, and describe how professionals can build relationships of trust and mutuality when CSE is ongoing or historical. Since victims and survivors are unlikely to initially self-identify as exploited, or use these clinical terms, a specialized approach to creating shared language and engaging individuals at different phases of CSE will also be described.

After attending this presentation, participants will be able to:
~Apply theories of grooming, seasoning and trauma bonding to CSE to help improve clinical practice and reduce provider fatigue
~Name two strategies for creating shared language and supporting individuals who do not identify their situation as exploitative
~Anticipate two unique safety concerns in forming therapeutic relationships with individuals involved in the sex trade and ways to manage these relationships

Abigail Judge Ph.D. is a clinical and forensic psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and in private practice, and she is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Judge’s hospital-based clinical work, scholarship, and teaching focus on improving the clinical response to women impacted by the continuum of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. Dr. Judge has worked with this population as a therapist, educator, court-appointed evaluator, and expert witness since 2009.

This is part of the Human Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation Workgroup Education Series.