Support groups

Home: Survivors: Incest & Child Abuse: It happened to me

Most of the survivors had attended a support group, and nearly all were positive about this experience. Support groups were considered to be particularly valuable as they provided the opportunity to meet with others with similar experiences.

'The most helpful thing is talking to people who understand, who have experienced abuse themselves. Some people will listen, sympathise, say a few appropriate words, then shelve it. That's not what I need. I need understanding and mainly to talk to someone who has experienced sexual abuse.'

'The group that I participated in wasn't just female members. There were males who were very angry about my experience and that helped, knowing there were men who cared about sexual abuse really helped.'

'The support group was even better in the sense that you were with people who have been there and done that. It gives you more trust in those individuals. You realise you can talk about what you want to without being judged or blamed or labelled. You also know that you are not on your own.'

'I rang Lifeline and they referred me to a private psychologist. I saw her twice and then she got a group together. I found the group informative and interesting but it was not really for me. We worked through a lot of things though.'

'The support group is very valuable. It's more helpful than any worker to see other women and think that I'm not the only one. It takes away a lot of the alienation.' 'It was really good to have a facilitator, someone trained.'

Sponsor

Department of Human Services

Disclaimer Copyright Updated: 21 May 2010