My abusive father has died. Why am I grieving? | Agony Aunties

Therapy Works · Oct 23, 2026 · 11m

This week’s listener is struggling with the death of her father, who sexually abused her as a child and never acknowledged what he had done. Psychotherapist Julia Samuel and her daughters Sophie and Emily explore the lasting impact of childhood sexual abuse, the complicated grief that can follow the death of an abusive parent and how to find healing from childhood trauma.

After confronting her father thirty years ago, the listener was met with denial so cut off contact. While she believed she had moved forward, his recent death has resurfaced unresolved childhood trauma, leaving her…