Treatment For Abuse | How Can Psychotherapy Help?

Abuse

Abuse is any form of maltreatment whether it is physical, emotional, sexual, or neglectful behaviours. Often, we may overlook the emotional aspects of abuse making it harder to understand that sometimes psychological wounds are as equally profound as other types of abuse, such as physical abuse.

Survivors of abuse may suffer negative consequences finding it difficult to disclose feelings of pain, anger, and shame to others. As a result, you may feel overwhelmed by distressing emotions that can make your day-to-day living intolerable.

Counselling and psychotherapy can provide a safe environment to express traumatic memories and understand how they influence you in your current life.

Problems That You Might Be Experiencing If You Have Been Abused

If you have suffered from abuse you are likely to experience the following problems:

• Depression, irritability, anger and mood swings.
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Sleep difficulties
• Problems trusting others and forming close relationships
• Poor intimate relationships
• Low self-esteem
• Be prone to self-harming actions
• Be susceptible to mental health conditions, such as personality disorders, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol or drug abuse

How Can Psychotherapy Help With Abuse?

Therapy can help you open up and gain a deeper understanding of the negative emotions linked to the abuse. It can provide you with a safe and non-judgmental environment to help you cope with feelings of anger and shame.

In therapy, you will learn different ways and strategies to deal with flashbacks. Additionally, you will learn how to manage emotions, so you feel calmer and more able to move on with your daily life while feeling confident and safe.

Psychotherapy Treatment For Abuse

At EmotionMatters we understand that dealing with the traumatic memories associated with the abuse is difficult and overwhelming. We can provide you with a safe and supportive environment where you can share your emotions and feel better about yourself. Treatment may include:

• Creating a safe space and building trust
• Using specific tools to alleviate symptoms that may come as a result of the abuse such as flashbacks, anxiety, nightmares, depression and other forms of psychological difficulties
• Working on identifying strengths
• Working on shifting from the victim position to the survivor position