We Are Survivors believes that by being in contact with people who understand the issues that male survivors face can really begin to help an individual move forward in their life and take back the power and control that was once taken away.
In all of our services, we work on a stepped-care model that allows individuals to increase or decrease the intensity of support; and like many trauma focused support services, we work in a way that is very much in keeping with Judith Herman’s model of Trauma and Recovery.
The model she presents describes in detail the healing process of people who struggle with a combination of problems related to unwanted, abusive, or traumatic experiences in their past. Our friends over at 1in6 in the USA have described the three stage model perfectly which you can see by clicking here.
Before you begin looking at or talking about difficult memories of experiences, maybe the most logical / sensible / and protective way forward is to engage in some of our stabilisation support. That doesn’t mean that we think you’re unstable (far from it), but its about making sure that before you start building a solid healing structure we make sure the foundations are solid. You don’t have to jump straight in, why not get settled first and make sure that for you, you feel like you’ve landed.
Therapy is a space that needs to be safe and so the beginning is often about you and your therapist getting to know each other (don’t be surprised if its all about what was on TV, football, life in general…. hey, even the weather!).
Then after you feel a bit more connected to your therapist, built up some trust, feel like your getting used to the surroundings and like your owning a bit of the space, then your more likely to feel able to share some of the more difficult things. Its all in your own time and you’re in the driving seat.
All of our therapists are qualified and are members of the BACP (British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy).
