Reaching thirty seemed impossible
Visitor Anne Halpin talks frankly and honestly about her experiences and what has helped her as she reaches a landmark. Content warning: sexual abuse, trauma, suicide I recently turned thirty. I’d like to start with my childhood. I was physically abused by my mum as a child and I was sexually abused... Read More
New partnership offers help to abuse survivors
Organisations across Leeds have formed a new partnership to help adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Public awareness of child sexual abuse and the impact it has on the lives of victims, their families and communities has increased in recent years. The new Leeds Visible partnership aims to help employers and service providers to take... Read More
West Yorkshire based sexual violence charity research shows its men’s teletherapy service works well
Survivors West Yorkshire, the Yorkshire region’s ONLY online specialist support service for male survivors of child sexual abuse, publishes independent evaluation of Ben’s Place. The organisation, which promotes the public awareness message, “sexual abuse is something I experienced, it’s not who I am!”, said it was keen to share the positive findings of the... Read More
Understanding Trauma
Erene Hadjiioannou is a psychotherapist specialising in trauma as a result of sexual violence, and between 2014 and 2018 set up two services in Leeds for female-identifying clients with complex needs (offenders, and survivors of sexual violence). While Erene’s priority is client work, she has always written and spoken about mental health as way to encourage people to... Read More
Healing through poetry
Sarah Strutt has generously shared some poetry she has written regarding events throughout her life. Having been registered blind due to a degenerative genetic disorder at the age of 17, she continued her studies on to university, before having to withdraw at age 20 due to ill health. She has then faced challenging times since, after... Read More
FReSH Start Study
FReSH Start aim to rethink support for self-harm and they need to hear from others. See the below post for applicants to a confidential survey to help them in their valuable work. Do you have personal experience of self-harm? We are looking for people who can help us understand why people self-harm. We... Read More
Katie’s Legacy
Dave Lynch talks about an important person in his life, her activism and what she’s left behind. As I type this, it’s been just over a month since I started my blog up again, following over a year of inactivity. The response has been really positive, which is very uplifting considering the fact that... Read More
Mental Health Peer Support is Vital.
Dave Lynch talks about his experiences with peer support after a bereavement and the valuable service it provides. Content warning: suicide, depression Various mental health groups have been promoting ‘Time To Talk’ day today, a great incentive for people to start discussions on anything mental health related. This feels like a good opportunity... Read More