Have you been affected by abuse?
Are you struggling with:
- Past memories of abuse, whether physical, sexual or emotional?
- A current or a past situation of domestic abuse?
- Withdrawing from or fearing relationships?
- Feeling sad, depressed and isolated?
- Having difficulty relaxing and sleeping?
- A lot of anger and resentment?
- Feeling intensely anxious at times or avoiding particular situations?
Different types of abuse
There are distinct types of abuse and knowing what they are can give clarity to your experiences and situation:
- Physical abuse includes being harmed physically by another person including being hit, punched, pushed and other forms of harm, being put at risk and danger by reckless behaviour and having your property destroyed.
- Emotional abuse includes being spoken to in a disrespectful way, being bullied whether at work, school or home, having unreasonable expectations made of you, threats, controlling behaviour and being isolated.
- Sexual abuse includes being raped, being forced to do sexual acts to take part in interactions against your will, being forced to watch sexually explicit materials. For more information on healing from childhood sexual abuse please go to my sexual abuse counselling Cork page.
- Financial abuse includes being denied control over your own income, withholding of money and controlling of money in the household.
- Domestic abuse, which includes domestic violence, can include verbal abuse, constant degrading and insults, continuously finding faults in a partner, threats, bullying, sexual abuse and physical abuse. It tends to occur in close intimate relationships. It exists across all levels of society and remained a “hidden crime’ for many years although today police and agencies have been given new, more effective policies to tackle it.
The Effects of Abuse
People who experience abuse are often traumatised by their experience – whether it was an episode of bullying at school, experiencing physical or sexual abuse as a child or being involved in an abusive relationship as an adult. Trauma can result in all kinds of emotional difficulties such as anxiety, depression and anger. In its most extreme and debilitating form the results of trauma can lead to a complete break -down in the ability to function in almost all areas of life: the loss of the ability to maintain important relationships; hold down a job or complete a course of study .
For more information about the effects of trauma, go to my Trauma counselling Cork page
Healing after abuse
Counselling to talk about any kind of abuse is a very difficult decision to make. Survivors of abuse which dates back to childhood often say that they put off the decision, sometimes even for years because the prospect of beginning to talk about it is so daunting. I have experience working with adults who have experienced the different forms of abuse described above both in childhood and/or adulthood. There are so many feelings associated with this that sometimes it is hard to know where to begin but I will provide you with a safe space where you can take things at your own pace, knowing that at no stage do you need to disclose anything that you don’t feel ready to talk about.
It is possible to heal the wounds caused by these experiences and to be able to feel fulfilled and happy again.
Getting help – abuse counselling Cork
I have specialist knowledge in working with clients suffering from the effects of abuse and trauma. Whatever your experience, I can provide you with a safe space in order for you to start to explore your feelings and to move towards recovery.