Counselling
Whether you experienced sexual harm recently, when you were a child, or what seems like a long time ago, we are here to help.
The North and North West Tasmanian Sexual Assault Support Service, known as Laurel House, is a not-for-profit, community-based specialist sexual assault support service.
Our team provides sexual assault trauma counselling, support, education and training. We provide an inclusive, holistic service that addresses sexual inequalities and abuses by advocating for individual and community change.
Laurel House’s counsellors provide free face-to-face and online counselling services for adults, children and people of all genders and backgrounds who are affected by sexual harm.
Counselling gives you a safe space for you to be heard. Our professional counsellors aim to have a healing conversation with you that explores the affects you have experienced because of sexual harm.
We do not expect you to discuss the details of your experience; that is always your choice.
We focus on making sure the counselling you receive is useful to you.
Laurel House counsellors will:
- believe you
- know that what happened to you is not your fault
- help you find ways to cope with the effects of trauma
- let you decide whether you want to talk about what happened. If you prefer, you can talk about the effects sexual harm has had on you and how these impact your life
- believe you can heal and recover without talking about the details of your trauma.
While we sometimes have waiting lists for ongoing counselling services, we can offer to provide you with check-in phone support, until a place becomes available. We encourage you to contact us at any time that you feel you need support, or if your circumstances change.
Therapeutic options
People recover in different ways. Just as there are no right or wrong reactions to trauma, there is no one way to heal.
Laurel House counsellors will work with you to find an approach that feels right for you.
You may find that strategies taken from many different therapies are what you need. Here are just a few we might draw on while working with you.
When we find other information or resources that might help you in your healing journey, we can also share these with you.
As you recover, we look to strengthen your resilience, understand inner conflicts, develop healthy boundaries, improve your social connections, get better insight into how you cope, build your self-esteem, manage any addictions, reduce anxiety and restore your wellbeing.
It is important to give yourself the time to heal and the chance to try different approaches at different stages of your recovery.
Art therapy
Art therapy gives us a way to express emotions through creativity, when words are not accessible. Art therapy can use different forms of art, Laurel House counsellors may use drawing, painting, knitting, crocheting, modelling sculptures, crafting, and sand play to support a person’s healing.
Cognitive behavioural therapy
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) focuses on the connection between our thoughts, feelings, and actions. We can often get stuck in patterns of thinking that make sense in terms of our trauma but are not helpful to us. CBT can help us slow our thinking down and gently challenge and change our patterns so they are less distressing.
Narrative therapy
The way we tell the story of what happened to us makes a difference to how we see ourselves. We can draw on the stories of our lives that remind us of strengths and what we love and care about. Giving these things a voice can be a very powerful way to support healing.
Person-centred therapy
This approach recognises that you are the expert in your own life and your own experience. It also recognises that we all have an ability to heal and to grow in life, if we are given the chance. If those helping us can meet us with complete positive regard and can really listen without any judgement or trying to force an agenda, we will start to move naturally towards resolving the problems that brought us to counselling.
Acceptance and commitment therapy
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) helps us to be open to our experience in the here and now. It teaches us to accept our feelings and our thoughts, without struggling against them or judging them. It helps us to find what values we have and what goals we want to commit to in our lives.
Three-phased trauma recovery
For those of us who have complex trauma, it can help to see therapy in three phases.
Phase 1: Safety and stabilisation
We work to develop a toolkit for managing distress (the ways you deal with flashbacks, nightmares, strong emotional reactions, dissociation and so on).
Phase 2: Processing
We work on dealing with the impact of trauma. We can deal with memories directly or by working on the legacy left by the memories.
Phase 3: Integrating
We can work on what it takes for you to reconnect and reorient in your life.
Additional therapies
We also draw from many other approaches, including talk therapy, dialectic behaviour therapy, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) and solution-focused therapy.
Further reading
About forensic medical examinations
About forensic medical examinations
About forensic medical examinations
This fact sheet explains what forensic medical examinations are, what to expect if you choose to have one, and how to request one.
Confidentiality and Safety
Confidentiality and Safety
Laurel House takes the confidentiality of its clients and their personal and other information, very seriously.
Get help now
If you, or anyone else is in immediate danger, call 000
Northern Tasmania
North West Tasmania
24/7 Support Statewide
