How Therapy Helps

  • Studies show that counselling helps alleviate many symptoms, such as anxiety, depression and thinking about suicide.

  • Counselling can provide you with reassurance that your experience is similar to that of other women. This enables you to feel understood and valued.

  • Counselling provides someone that you can trust to keep valuing you in spite of what you feel bad or ashamed about. It helps you to gain the confidence that you can live through your feelings, reducing the painful ones and increasing the happy ones.

  • Your counsellor can share information about the effects of sexual abuse and rape with you, which may bring about positive changes in the way you think and feel about yourself.

  • Counselling can provide a safe environment and support for healing the long term effects of sexual abuse and rape, helping you make sense of your feelings and experiences.

  • Many survivors report ongoing relationship difficulties in their lives, but counselling can assist you with issues of anger, trust and intimacy, helping you relate to people better.

  • Counselling can help you understand and reduce physical responses such as headaches, eating and sleeping difficulties, flashbacks and self harming behaviours.

  • Counselling can help you develop new skills to more effectively heal your experience of sexual abuse or rape and empower you to make new decisions and feel better about yourself.

  • Your counsellor can help you to get ready  for the court process.

  • If you have any concerns about your safety, or that of your family, your counsellor can assist you to look at the available options.

  • Counselling can give you information and resources about other services available to you, including legal agencies, doctors, ACC, Women’s Refuge and Work and Income NZ.

Learn more about HELP’s Therapy Services.