Talking about assault, rape, or any type of abuse can be extremely difficult
People often cope with trauma by burying and pushing it down deep inside to the point it may reoccur as a bad dream or health problems. Clients may come to therapy not even aware that they have been a survivor of abuse.
Family and friends of survivors often mean well and want to help, however; they also may have been affected by your abuse and not be able to help you before they help themselves, or not have the tools such as communication skills to help.
Coming to therapy can be a scary step because you may wonder or say:
- Am I crazy?
- What did I do that caused this?
- It was my fault
- I can handle this on my own
Please know that when you come to therapy to talk about assault, rape or any experience that we know you may feel hesitant to share, and that we move at your pace.
Therapy is guided by the therapist but lead by the client. You will have control over how the sessions go, are able to set limits on what you do and do not want to talk about. Although, we are the “experts” in this topic and will help educate, support and help you with coping, we are not an expert on you as a person. We will help educate you on the process, what happens to your body and mind after an experience, and ways to deal with stress.
So, if you feel like you want to talk about an experience, but don’t feel like you are ready to share details, or even acknowledge it, you don’t have to. We do want you to tell us that and value you are feeling safe and comfortable in therapy.
We also want to know when you feel you are ready to be challenged. When you are ready, and prepared to cope with the stress of talking about your situation (which we will help you though this process) we will.