This workshop aims to deconstruct what it is for male survivors of sexual abuse and violence to feel shame. This includes some of the stigma that can be perpetuated by the psychological professions and the impact sexual abuse has on shame when experienced in different developmental stages (childhood, adolescence & adulthood).
The workshop will also look at men’s relationship to victimhood and how this can impact the therapeutic relationship and men’s relationship in the world. The workshop will feature audio clips of male survivors speaking about their experience and examine the psycho-social impact of abuse and men’s identity.
Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event
- To understand how shame plays a unique role in the silencing of male survivors.
- To think about the interaction of stigma, identity and shame and how this can manifest in men’s thoughts and behaviour
- To consider how men’s relationship to victimhood can become a barrier to them seeking support and how that may impact the therapeutic process
Who is This Workshop Appropriate For?
- Psychotherapists, counsellors and anyone within the helping professions who encounter male survivors of sexual violence
How May This Workshop Impact Your Practice?
- Male survivors can be some of the most marginalised people counsellors will work with. Often, an experience of sexual abuse is at the ‘bottom of the iceberg,’ buried underneath anti-social behaviour, sexual compulsiveness, addiction or violence. In addition, they are often some of the most vulnerable within our society and from marginalised communities. To start to unpick shame, barriers to help and hear survivors in their own words is a key to working with sexual trauma in therapy room and combatting the damage of stigma in our wider communities
Course Content
Presenter
Jeremy Sachs is an integrative psychotherapist, lecturer, and writer specialising in trauma recovery, sexual violence healing, and intersectional approaches to mental health. With over a decade of experience, he has focused on supporting male survivors of sexual abuse and creating inclusive therapeutic programmes for trans and non-binary individuals. For six years, he led SurvivorsUK’s group programmes and continues to develop new therapeutic groups to address diverse client needs.
In addition to his clinical practice, Jeremy contributes to psychologically informed research. As a freelance consultant and has worked with organisations such as the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Movember, and Younger Lives. He lectures at the London Diploma for Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy and has been a guest lecturer at The Tavistock Relationships, among other institutions. His writing has been published in ‘BACP Private Practice Journal’, ‘Therapy Today’, and ‘Happiful Magazine’, and he has served on the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Research Committee.
Jeremy is a trustee at Wellbeing Scotland, a charity providing trauma-informed support to individuals and communities affected by abuse, neglect, and adversity. He is also the host and producer of ‘The Trauma Talks’ podcast and the author of ‘An Intersectional Guide for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Their Allies: Masculinity Reconnected’, which will be published by Routledge, released July 2025. He is currently working on his second book. From London and currently based in Glasgow, Scotland, Jeremy runs a private practice and delivers training and talks across the UK and internationally.
