ABSTRACT
Sexual enslavement threatens everyone’s personal safety and devastates communities. To the survivors, trafficking is physiologically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually damaging. Suggestions for identifying exploited survivors are presented and followed by a description of the multitude of complications in providing treatment for survivors of sex trafficking. The needs of human trafficking victims are multifaceted, requiring comprehensive services and a continuum of care treatment that spans from crisis management to long-term treatment. Subsequently, effective therapeutic treatment may last for years, as the time line for each victim is distinctly individualized and can be entirely unpredictable. Recommendations for managing treatment barriers are explored and challenges for the practitioner are described, followed by an imperative reminder for professional self-care support to combat workplace stress and burnout. This chapter will discuss future considerations and suggestions for the field of art therapy with the sex trafficking population. Lastly, a denouement of the topic is delivered.
