Heroes, Villains & Healing: A Guide for Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Using Marvel Comic Superheroes, and Villains

Heroes, Villains, and Healing allow survivors to view their thoughts and actions through the lens of Marvel heroes and villains they love and hate. Characters such as Wolverine demonstrate how trauma can cause the strongest to forget and block out the pain of the past, while powerful characters such as the Hulk and Thing view themselves as monsters, using their anger and strength to mask their pain, fear, and sense of loneliness. While filled with fantastic radioactive mutations, arch-nemesis, and super soldiers, the realm of superheroes and villains provides survivors the ability to safely explore the theories and applications of cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and internal family systems therapy to heal their cognitive distortions and become complete individuals. Comics, while designed to be read through the lens of good vs. evil and hero vs. villain, can cause survivors to view their reality, their actions, and the actions of others in the same black-and-white terms. However, reality is more complex, containing contrasting colors and shades of grey. Heroes, Villains, and Healing use these comics as a foundation, providing the tools to identify cognitive distortions and change their automatic thoughts to no longer view themselves as either a hero or a villain. Instead, they learn to view themselves as individuals capable of overcoming the impact of their traumatic past to become the best version of themselves.