Sexual assaults constitute an expression of violence in which sexual impulses are disinhibited, without considering the desire of the victim. Facing a sexual assault is such a stressful experience that, on many occasions, psychological support is needed to assimilate and cope with this situation. After experiencing a sexual assault, individuals may feel a sense of unreality and even thinking that the aggression would never occur. It is also common that victims of sexual assault persistently re-experience the abuse. Finally, it is also common that victims report intense changes in emotions, ranging between fear, sadness, anger, guilt, and shame. The ability to make decisions or focus on everyday tasks also tends to decrease as a result of this situation. Some people require time to express their psychological discomfort, presenting problems related to post-traumatic stress, depression, adjustment disorders, or anxiety days, months, or even years after copying with the traumatic situation. Psychological support seeks to minimize the impact of the experience by strengthening the resources of the victim. To address this aim, emotional relief (i.e, the expression of feelings) and cognitive reworking constitute important therapeutic resources to assimilate and relocate the situation.

Psychological interventions have also been effective in preventing sexual assault and reducing the discomfort of the perpetrators. Factors such as the accumulation of stressful situations, the presence of sexist attitudes, the consumption of substances, or the difficulty to manage unpleasant emotions (depression, anxiety, anger, etc.) may favor sexual assaults that would, in turn, lead to a mechanism to cope with this discomfort. This coping system that, in the short term, can alleviate the discomfort of the aggressor, causes negative consequences in the medium and long term (both in the aggressor and of course in the victim). Through psychological interventions, personal variables that maintain the problem (such as self-control strategies, self-esteem, emotional management, or some ideas and conceptions that could be misaligned) are addressed. Likewise, the field of interpersonal relationships is addressed through the improvement of communication skills and empathy. At this point, it is also necessary to work on the sexual dimension, to promote the exercise of responsible health in this area. From this work, individuals are accompanied in a process of personal strengthening that allows, relocating their experience, to relearn the relationship with themselves and others.