Guided Self-help Following Sexual Assault - SCED

This single-case experimental design aims to evaluate the acceptability & feasibility of an online guided self-help intervention for female survivors of sexual assault who experience difficulties returning to sex.The main questions it aims to answer are:• Is the intervention viewed as acceptable by female survivors of sexual assault? Acceptability is defined as as how willing participants are to use the materials and their satisfaction with its content.The secondary question is, are there initial indicators that the intervention is effective? Effectiveness is measured by a reduction in the measure of sexual distress and improvement of sexual satisfaction - specifically confidence and motivation in practising strategies that will improve their experience of sex.Participants will complete the intervention independently. There will be 4-sessions which involve watching videos, with one session completed weekly. The developed materials aim to to help women understand their difficulties, learn practical strategies and build confidence in returning to sex. The materials are also guided by a piloted group for sexual distress by Bart's National Health Service (NHS) trust Sexual Wellbeing Service. The NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England.

Inclusion Criteria:Cis femaleExperience of sexual assault (in adulthood or childhood but not within the previous 12 months)Experiencing sexual distress/difficultiesUnited Kingdom ResidentWillingness to complete guided self helpAged 18 and aboveAbility to read and understand English to provide informed consent and meaningfully engage with the self-help materialsAbility to access online guided self-help material through a computer or phoneExclusion Criteria:experiencing severe acute mental health difficultiessexual assault occurring within the last 12 monthscurrently experiencing more than fleeting suicidal thoughts or engaging in severe self-harming (individuals who have been sexually assaulted are likely to experience suicidal thoughts or self harm behaviours, individuals with fleeting suicidal thoughts or superficial self harm with strong protective factors may be included however, since there is no contact with mental health professionals during the intervention unless participants reach out for triage, it is difficult to assess risk and participants have to be excluded if they do not have social support systems of are currently accessing psychological support).