Counselling for Sexual Abuse/Assault

My speciality is working with adults and youth who have experienced sexual assault and/or childhood sexual abuse.  I have 4 years experience working at an agency specializing in sexual violence counselling.  

I wanted to explore a few things about the counselling process for these clients:

I start by believing you!

Unfortunately people are often challenged about their experience by their friends and family, which is often fuelled by myths in our society about sexual violence.  I hope you're able to get the support you need.  You deserve to be met with a compassionate response when you disclose.

I believe that what happened to you is not your fault! 

Sexual abuse and assault are acts of violence and involve power and control.  The person to be held accountable is the person who perpetrated the abuse.  

We don’t have to go into the details of what happened   

When people discuss the details, it can be really triggering and overwhelm their nervous systems.  Instead, we often talk about common impacts of trauma including experiencing depression, anxiety, low self-esteem as well as impacts on trust and relationships.  You can heal without going into all of the details.

I'm here to provide psychoeducation.  

Trauma impacts our brains and our nervous systems.  I'm hear to provide information and education to help explore and explain your experiences.  Clients have found this helpful, since it helps decrease shame about their experiences.  

I’m here to help normalize your experience.  

Many people often feel shame and isolation.  Their self-worth is often largely impacted.  We can explore common experiences and impacts of trauma so you get to know you’re not alone in your experiences.  I have facilitated a group for adult, female survivors of childhood sexual abuse and the women in the group were amazed to find out they were not alone in their experiences.