Healing Sexual Trauma Through Pleasure: Reclaiming the Body, Reclaiming Joy

By Taylor McConnachie, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist⎟August 7, 2025

Healing from sexual trauma is a layered and deeply personal journey. While much of the focus tends to be on managing symptoms and establishing safety, there’s a powerful and often under-discussed aspect of recovery: the role of pleasure. This blog explores how pleasure- when approached with care, consent, and intention- can be a transformative tool in reconnecting with the body, rebuilding trust in oneself, and moving from survival to thriving. Whether pleasure comes through touch, sensation, creativity, or joy, this post offers a compassionate look at how it can support healing after trauma.

Healing from sexual trauma is a deeply personal journey, often nonlinear, layered with grief, resilience, and rediscovery. While much of the conversation around trauma rightly centers on safety, boundaries, and regulation, there’s another powerful- yet often overlooked- pathway to healing: pleasure.

For many survivors, pleasure may feel unsafe, unfamiliar, or even unattainable. Traumatic experiences can disrupt the connection between mind and body, severing a sense of agency and transforming what should be joyful or connective into something fraught with fear, shame, or disconnection. But healing doesn’t have to stop at surviving. It can also include reclaiming what was taken- pleasure, sensuality, and the full expression of one's embodied self.

Pleasure as a Radical Act of Healing

Engaging with pleasure after trauma isn’t about “getting over it” or rushing to feel better. It’s about reconnecting- gently, slowly, and with deep compassion. Pleasure can be a form of resistance to trauma’s lingering effects. It tells the nervous system: you are safe now. It reminds the body: you belong to yourself. And it affirms the truth: you are worthy of joy.

This doesn’t mean diving into sexual experiences before you're ready. Pleasure is expansive- it can start with small acts: the warmth of sunlight on your skin, the sensation of a cozy blanket, the taste of something delicious, or the feeling of your breath as it moves through your body. These seemingly simple experiences are not trivial. They are building blocks of self-trust.

Cultivating a Relationship to Pleasure

To heal through pleasure, begin by redefining it on your own terms. Ask yourself:

What makes me feel good in my body- without expectation or performance?

Where do I feel most at ease?

What kinds of touch feel nourishing or grounding?

There is no “right” answer, only what’s true for you. Some survivors benefit from working with somatic therapists, sex therapists, or bodyworkers trained in trauma-informed care. These professionals can help guide you through this process at a pace that honours your history and your healing.

Moving from Surviving to Thriving

Pleasure doesn’t erase trauma, but it can soften its grip. It can help transform your relationship with your body- from one shaped by pain or silence to one rooted in curiosity, presence, and self-compassion. Every moment of joy, every sensation welcomed with safety, is a quiet revolution- a step toward reclaiming your wholeness.

You deserve to feel good. You deserve to be at home in your body. Healing is not just about avoiding pain- it’s also about making space for joy, connection, and pleasure to return.