Healing After Childhood Abuse: Taking Steps Towards Your Future

If you experienced any sort of abuse as a child, it’s never too late to reach out for help. There’s no set way to move on after abuse, and it often isn’t the case that it gets easier with time. Sometimes, it just needs addressing and there’s no better place than the therapy room to start looking into old wounds. 

As with any personal trauma, it’s important to find a therapist you can trust, and someone qualified, experienced and compassionate to help you along the way. Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to discuss this further – whether you’re in London and choose to work with Vitus Wellbeing or not, I’d be happy to help and offer some guidance.

Childhood trauma doesn’t have to define your future, but it is important to work through it. If not, the memories may well haunt you and impact your relationships and life choices. Without learning which healthy coping mechanisms to use, you may find yourself withdrawing from aspects of your life, turning to escapism via overworking, drug or alcohol use, or burning out from keeping yourself far too busy. 

Perhaps you’ve felt a shift recently—maybe driven by stories in the news, or the pressure of the “New Year, New Me” mindset—and you’re considering asking for help. If so, take things at your own pace and find a therapist you feel you could trust.

You’re Not Alone

Devastatingly, research suggests that 1 in 4 adults in the UK have experienced abuse before the age of 18. As alarmingly high as that is, it shows that you’re not alone and your experiences are likely not as rare as you might think. Despite the figures, I appreciate how isolating your experience can feel, and how memories are often wrapped up in guilt or shame, making them incredibly hard to share with others. 

Rest assured, I can handle your stories. I can handle your memories and the way you learnt to cope with your experiences. I want to lighten your load and unburden you of your thoughts so you can move forward with ease, free from judgement.

Each enquiry I receive about childhood trauma comes from someone who has found the courage to reach out. It’s a big step, and it’s one I never take lightly.

Whether you’re starting this year feeling uncertain, overwhelmed, or perhaps ready to face the past, know that you’re in safe hands. My team and I at Vitus Wellbeing have a wealth of experience in supporting survivors of abuse, including those who may be self-harming or struggling with suicidal thoughts. Quite often the shame of the memories leads to more shameful thoughts in present day. That’s okay. We can work through those, too.

Healing Begins with Small Practical Steps

Processing abuse doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s not about forgetting what happened. We’ll work towards finding ways to release the memories, the feelings or the frustrations. We’ll take small, intentional steps—adapting the pace to suit your needs and to fit around your other life commitments. Perhaps factor this in to your planning. 

Processing childhood abuse is a long-term goal. We don’t suggest trying to do this in brief therapy (classified as 10 sessions or fewer) – you’ll need time to build trust with your therapist, to gradually unload and to unpick how and why the events took place as they did. We use our safe, adult-lens to understand events that would have been confusing to, or misinterpreted by, a child’s lens.

Discussions of abuse should also take place in face-to-face therapy sessions, where possible. Due to the nature of abuse, it’s important you feel safe and supported during your therapy sessions, and separate from your home or work-life. If you’re in London or the surrounding areas, consider seeing us in-person, in our Fulham therapy rooms (a 1 minute walk from Putney Bridge underground station, or 10 minute walk from Putney National Rail Station).  

It’s Never Too Late to Seek Support

No matter how much time has passed, it isn’t too late to seek help. Sadly, trauma doesn’t have an expiration date—it won’t leave you over time and it’s prone to resurfacing later in life, especially during milestone events or years, periods of change or self-reflection. While the idea of addressing it might feel daunting, the reality is it’s a lot easier than living a life weighed down by your past.

Moving Toward a Brighter Chapter

Therapy is about taking things one step at a time. It’s a process of understanding how the past has shaped you, recognising your strengths, and building tools to navigate the present and future. We’ll work together to create a safe space for you to process what’s happened and develop strategies and healthy coping mechanisms to help you move forward.

Your feelings are valid, and you deserve support

If you’re starting this year feeling a little unsteady or unsure, that’s okay. Despite what you might have been told before, you deserve the opportunity to process what’s happened, to find clarity, and to start a new chapter with less weight on your shoulders. 

If you’d like to discuss previous events or memories that are holding you back, feel free to contact us. I offer a free initial enquiry call to anyone who’d like to know more, or who feels ready to start seeing their own therapist and would like my help. Feel free to book in via the link: https://vituswellbeing.as.me/?location=Phone, and I’ll be pleased to speak to you soon.

Carly Webb,

Vitus Wellbeing Founder and Qualified Adult and Adolescent Psychotherapist

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www.vituswellbeing.com | info@vituswellbeing.com | 0208 0909 517

Vitus Wellbeing supports children, adolescents, adults, couples and families with their mental health and relationships. Our specialist team offer child and adult psychotherapy and parent coaching, both in person in Fulham, London, and online. Our practitioners are highly qualified and experienced, each with their own specialisms and approach. For more information or support, or to enquire about working with our team, please contact us.