Whatever the form, Sexual, Physical or Psychological, the experience of childhood abuse is a trauma, which continues to have an impact on people throughout their adult lives. Childhood trauma can damage the client’s ability to enter into a trusting relationship, emotionally and physically. Counselling for childhood abuse aims to tackle this trauma.
Childhood abuse counselling offers survivors the chance to talk face-to-face in a safe, secure, and non-judgemental environment. Therapists aim to help survivors come to terms with their emotional issues and realise their ability to take control of their lives. Strong emphasis is placed on personal empowerment.
Counselling for childhood abuse can offer survivors help with:
- Being able to talk about the abuse perhaps for the first time
- Validating the survivor’s experience
- Managing the abuse from an adult perspective
- Overcoming self-blame and shame
- Feelings of anger towards the abuser
- Fear of violence and coercion
- Anxiety and depression
- Sexuality
- Dissociative identity disorder
- Fear of abandonment
- Lack of self-worth
- Addressing behaviours that have outlived their purpose
- Reconnecting to bodily sensations
- Living authentically
- Building resilience and trust
- Restoring hope
Take the first step to overcome the trauma of childhood abuse
To find a therapist who offers counselling for trauma and childhood abuse take a look at the list of counsellors who work with victims of childhood trauma from the Barnsbury Therapy Rooms.
Pesso Boyden, EMDR and Somatic Experiencing are therapy methods that are effective for working with trauma. Henrietta Nurney and Susannah Cornish offer EMDR and Mark Kelly, Rebecca Porteous and Jessica Moolenaar offer Somatic Experiencing. Kate McGeever offers Pesso Boyden therapy.