Our Youth Therapy service is offered in secondary schools and on-site in Mt Eden.
Some young women who have experienced sexual abuse feel overwhelmed at the prospect of seeking ongoing help and support, especially when what they want to talk about is so personal.
Survivors don’t have to cope with their experiences and feelings on their own – HELP is here to support you through everything.
Counselling offers a safe space for survivors to explore and understand their thoughts, feelings and experiences, with someone who understands.
How Does Youth Therapy Work?
The therapy experience is very different for everyone and each person has their own way of being in the world and understanding things.
There is no “one way” or “right way”. Each person’s needs are unique and the counsellor will spend time with each person to work out what they need.
HELP’s counsellors have special training and skills to offer and what is said to them is confidential, unless someone is at risk of harm.
Sometimes people are nervous about starting counselling and worry that they will have to tell their counsellor all about the sexual assault or sexual abuse straight away. They don’t.
It’s important that survivors feel safe and comfortable to talk about what happened in their own time and in their own way.
Survivors can choose how much they say or don’t say and a counsellor will support them in this – the survivor’s voice is the most important!
Some young people see us for a few sessions, as they just want to understand one aspect of their experience, or learn something like how to get to sleep again.
They might come back again for a few sessions a few weeks, months or years later if something else is bothering them about the experience.
Other young people might want to see the counsellor for longer, as they really work through what happened to them, what it means to them, and how they want to get their life back.