Coming to the Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center was my last attempt to get help. As a mental health professional myself in a small, close-nit town – where everyone knows everyone – I didn’t feel comfortable seeking help and disclosing the abuse I encountered. As a child, I experienced sexual abuse for years. Not just by one trusted and loved person, but several throughout my childhood.

The trauma of child sex abuse is extensive and long lasting, effecting every area of my life. I attempted to work through the trauma through various personal and professional recommendations – but nothing seemed to help me fully recover as an adult. I began to believe that this was as good, as ok, as I was going to get.

Then I was sexually assaulted by a trusted friend. The crisis state that this put me in was unexplainable. I made the decision to reach out to the Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center, which was quite a distance from where I live.

Over the course of 2 years I worked with a counselor. For the first time, I had hope that healing was possible. My life was truly transformed. I started my own business, advanced my career in creating policies and meaningful changes for the lives of children and adults in our state, and I can officially say I that am a survivor of sexual assault. None of this would have been possible without the help and counseling I received at DVSAC.

If you have been the victim of sexual assault or ongoing sexual abuse, you are not alone. What happened to you is not your fault and does not define your life. Hope and healing is possible! Trauma recovery after abuse is possible.