Find Services for You as a Loved One
Getting support as a loved one includes processing your own emotions around this trauma and honoring your own needs for self-care, as well as learning how to be there for the survivor(s) in your life.
What types of services are available to loved ones?
If you’ve just learned that someone you care about was sexually abused as a child, a lot of feelings may be coming up for you. That’s totally normal and ok. Asking for support to help you process this information is a healthy choice. Thank you for making it.
Healing from CSA trauma is an individual, interpersonal and communal act of love. We heal from this issue, together, as we build safe ways to learn, share and connect together. It’s a courageous action to prioritize these goals for yourself and the survivor(s) in your life.
Service Providers Based on Your Needs
What types of services are you interested in?
It may be helpful to get additional support to help process the feelings that may be coming up for you as a loved one or ally. Working one-on-one with an individual therapist can be a great early step in starting to unpack feelings and emotions you may have about this trauma.
If you have tried counseling before, you may be very familiar with this world. If you have never started to look inward through a therapy process, this may be completely new for you. There are many considerations to think about when selecting a professional with whom to start this work. Our list of questions may assist you.
*For personalized assistance with our Survivor Services Navigator for referrals in your area, click here or email support@wingsfound.org
The number one predictor of how well someone may recover from childhood sexual abuse is being believed and supported by those they care about and love. Sadly, in our culture, this issue has been denied, ignored, silenced and stigmatized for too long. Therefore, many adult survivors have not had supportive people in their lives to help hold space for their healing journeys. To help you be there for yourself and the survivor(s) in your life, it may help to learn more about how childhood sexual abuse trauma impacts adult survivors – and loved ones. For this reason, we also suggest taking our Champions of Healing training and consider joining a group for the Loved Ones of Survivors.
As we learn about this issue and engage with it openly and honestly, together, we can all be part of transforming silence, hurt and secrecy into voice, healing, trust and healthy connection.
This is our vision at Wings: empowering healthy lives, relationships and communities for all.