Home » The Art of Healing: Creative Expressions by CSA Survivors

The Art of Healing: Creative Expressions by CSA Survivors

The works included in our Survivors’ Art Blog (below) were created by Child Sexual Abuse survivors. We thank them for their courage to speak out, and hope their art will help others know they are not alone.

“Creativity and imagination are the sweet spots for healing!”

~ Gita Vaid, MD, Co-Founder of the Center for Natural Intelligence

*Are you a CSA survivor? Submit your original work here.


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Virtual Virtue (from “UNPLUGGED: A Survivor’s Story in Scenes & Songs”)

In the song “Virtual Virtue,” Dayna Clay describes her childhood rape — and her determination to survive it. Lyrics: I used to dream that you’d become the dad I never hadSomeone who’d look after me, come through when...
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“Graffiti on a Girl” by Lisa Marie Carter

I tried to give them shelter, I invited them all inside. I sent out the invitations, “Come one, come all”; no pride. I never asked for rent, not once; a drink at most would do. I’d then hand them the keys to the kingdom, to do with...
beautiful embroidered flowers created by a CSA survivor

Embroidered Spring Flowers

About the Creator I am a 60 year old child abuse survivor. My brain injuries began at 2 1/2. I was put in a pool and left to drown. That was the first time I saw the white in heaven. Around that age I had my first of 6 concussions. At 4 yrs old I...
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It Knows by Naomi

My body knows a pain within,it draws it out upon my skin. Upon my wrists I’m forced to see,how hard the ropes have pulled on me.The red marks on my knee they label,how pressure burns pressed on a table. Redness on my thighs submit,a full-grown...
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Breathe by Gloryfied

Dandelion seeds and lavender.. Breathe in.. Breathe out.. You are moving.. You are healing.. You are working through this process we call recovery. Keep breathing. Keep moving…...
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Little Hands by Anne D.

Skipping across the street.Little hands wrapped around mommy’s finger.Hurry, don’t be late.Quickly Cross the street. Little Hands clutch Mommy’s leg.Mommy is talking. I can’t see the ladies.The desk is too tall.I am too small...
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All of Us by OneOutOf6

This is something I wrote for the members of my support group: This place is beautiful but also sad. We make useful of something oh so bad. We feel disrupted, corrupted, silenced and blamed, subjected to ridicule, violence and shame. We tell our...
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Hate is a strong word by Ollie

*Rated: Adult Language There is a difference between hate and anger,Hate has a shorter reason,But always has the taste and is always stronger.Anger simmers deeper,It usually is formed by a secret,Isn’t that right? If I hated you,I would have your...
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Be the Light by Gloryfied

SunflowersBe your child’s light, don’t let them grow up in darkness...
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Broke but not Beat by OneOutOf6

Wanted to share this with you. . . I have been broken but I haven’t been beatI have spoken and I won’t admit defeat,faced my enemy and I faced my fearno matter what he did to me I’m still herehe took away my youth and he took away my...
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Shadows of the Night by Mary Graziano

Notes from Mary about this video: My friend George Robinson put together this song of my work. I met him at his Healing through Creativity festival in West Virginia which I have attended for about 4 years. My very close friend, artist Michal Madison...
"VOICES RISEN", a poem by Paula Evans Moysin "So tired of hurting every day and night, Just want to finally finish the vicious fight. I don't have the will to continue any longer, The pull and promise of the grave is stronger. My soul is ripped out, my spirit vile and black. I tried my best to get better, but I never got on track. I know you've tried to help me through this time, But it was a mountain I could not climb. Please do not spend your time grieving me, I'm finally exactly where I've sought to be. This is my cry today, pain please just go away, But because there are so many who want me to stay, I'm going to fight until my breaths last hour, I'll find my voice and use it to give victims power. So many suffer abuse and feel the shame, They're made to walk through this fiery flame. And victims, both male and female, believe it's their fault, But we'll break the wall and over the rubble we'll vault. We'll know we've won the battle, our voices risen, When every perpetrator has to serve life in prison." {background image: prison cells}

Voices Risen by Paula Evans Moysin

About the Creator I’m a wife, mother, and grandmother who has lived with the wounds of CSA my whole life. When I began therapy, writing was the only way I could express myself. Now it has become a solid part of my therapy, and sharing is part...
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Hands Clean by Alanis Morissette

Remember this song? Alanis very clearly states in interviews that it was part of her healing from a relationship with an older man that she was “unprepared to deal with at the time” (She was 14.) Note the verse lyrics are very standard...
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Child Me by Jennene Obremski

Goodbye child meyou were so very unluckytreated like a rag dollgrow up, stumble and fallI am grown up now, child mefinding my own happylost without your memoryyou will heal child meyou will find your inner strengththat love does exist at any...
Living in my Own Shadow book cover

Living in My Own Shadow by Mary Ann Reuter

Thank you Mary Ann for being brave and sharing your story. We hope through this difficult task of finally allowing yourself to be fully seen, you have found peace and healing; and we know that sharing your story will inspire and empower others to...
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Cared For Child by Jennene Obremski

It wasn’t just the physical abuse and emotional neglectMy innocence was just another thing to collectSick adults creating sick childrenSick individuals harming their own brethrenThere is no justice for a stolen childhoodThere is only pain and...
book cover of "What Really Happens Behind Closed Doors" by E Morrell

What Really Happens Behind Closed Doors by E Morrell

What really happens behind closed doors is based on the life experiences of Author, E Morrell. Morrell published the book to help others know that they are not alone and to encourage survivors to talk about their experiences with a trusted confidant...
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Wherever I Wind Up by R.A. Dickey

Thank you R.A. Dickey for sharing your story. As a public figure, your voice can do much to empower our youth to speak up if they are being abused and also to empower adult survivors to be brave and break their silence as well. In his book...
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Restoration by CallmeKey15

Wow! What a powerful testament to what it means to be a child sexual abuse survivor, look your abuse in the face, and choose to know that you are worthy, you are special and you are loved! Enjoy this great faith-based spoken word performance from a...
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The Monster (Explicit) by Suze **Trigger Alert**

The drawings below were created by a woman we’ll call Suze, who used art as an adjunct to her therapy process. Suze experienced severe abuse as a child, including child sexual abuse and ritual abuse by a cult. She used a combination of art and...
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Silent Screams by OneOutOf6

The world in which I existed left me warped and twisted, broken, and scared, words left unspoken cause it’s hard to cope with the past, alcohol wears off and the dope don’t last. I was that quiet child with tears in his eye, and fears in...
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Child In Me by Jennene Obremski

I had to touch her heartThe child in meHer whole world ripped apartThe child in meTo find her buried under my tearsThe child in meTo help her face her fearsThe child in meNow she shines from withinThe child in meEvery obstacle she will battle and...
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The Forgotten Children by Mary Graziano

I wrote this poem back in 2014. As a survivor of child abuse, I wanted to reach out to others. My friend George Robinson put together this song of my work. I met him at his Healing through Creativity festival in West Virginia which I have attended...
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Crumbling by Patty Croom

© Patty Croom, Patty Pixx Photography This photo is from my hometown.  The school I attended for most of my elementary and Jr. High years. It was a safe haven for me. Home has so many meanings and this place was more of a home than where I...
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Easy to Judge by OneOutOf6

*Rated: Adult Language What I wrote when a guy online said he was glad it happened to me: It’s easy to judge and hard to relate, I’m hard to love and so easy to hate, hard to defend, easy to be attacked, I’m too busy defending to...
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Amends to Self by Debra

This piece came about during a 9th step (amends) process in recovery. My sponsor said that before anyone else, I needed to make an amends to myself, noting any way in which I had harmed myself physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc. The abuse was...
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Rainbow by Jennene Obremski

I was raped when I was 15 and 4 months later he raped me again causing a miscarriage of my unknown pregnancy by him. This poem is about the loss of my baby and innocence. Send me back my rainbowThat you killed so long agoI’ve wondered about it...
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The Unspoken Truth: A Memoir by Lisa Zarcone

A new book by child sexual abuse survivor, Lisa Zarcone. This is what survivors can do when they heal!   Visit Lisa on Twitter!...
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Overcoming Emotions & Healing Wounds by Vanessa Hicks

In recent weeks, I’ve discovered how hard it is to overcome emotions and any fears I have. In my drawings, I find I can switch off, but also use my creative time to figure out what is going on inside myself. Sometimes it gets the frustration out, but...
The Shadows in my Heart by Mary Havens book cover

The Shadows in My Heart by Mary Havens

We had the privilege of meeting this author last night on our interview with the NAASCA SCAN blogtalk radio show. Thank you, Mary, for your commitment to healing and sharing your story with others. We commend you. About the Author Mary HavensAuthor...
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A Stray, Wet Cat by Roxie Stricker

Could she have done something? It’s too late now to tell. Too late to go back. She’s gone forward, for sure. More than most. But she still feels it. Fear can’t seem to escape her coursing bloodstream. She wants someone to hold her. To protect her...
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I Will Never Be the Same Again by Asha Lightbearer

Every time I sing this song I am reminded of the sweetness of happy, healthy romantic love. In the past, my understanding of love was pretty much synonymous with pain, loss or longing. However, a few years ago, I decided I was not going to play that...
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Welcome Home, Fiona ~ Asha Lightbearer

Fiona is the story of child sexual abuse survivors everywhere–abused by the people they know and trust, and most often silently carrying the pain and shame of that abuse into their adult lives and relationships. Only when we are willing to face...

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