Support group offers hope for adult survivors of child abuse

A RETIRED psychiatric nurse and counsellor has launched a support group for adult survivors of child abuse in Geelong.

A survivor himself, Michael Constable has experience with similar support groups as both a participant and facilitator.

He has also assisted in residential workshops for survivors, coordinated a national support and information hotline for survivors and throughout his 50-year nursing career, worked with vulnerable and marginalised people.

Motivated by a lack of affordable support services for child abuse survivors in Geelong, he’s teamed up with a fellow survivor, Janet.

“Something needs to be done and we’re going to give it a try and see if we can provide some opportunity for people to break the ice and break the isolation,” Mr Constable said.

He said it can be difficult to bring survivors together, with many battling what he called “the unholy trinity of child abuse”: shame, trust issues and isolation.

The group will focus on sharing information about the participant’s lives – their challenges, wins and wisdom – not the abuse they’ve experience.

Janet – who asked for her surname not be published – said living with the affects of child abuse was an ongoing struggle.

“You see that your life is different from other people’s, but you don’t feel like there’s anyone out there that actually gets it,” she said.

“I mean you know logically, statistically, that they’re out there, there’s lots of them, but how do you meet them? How do you share with them?”

She said that being able to share strategies and ideas with other survivors was “invaluable”.

“I’m more concerned about how do we keep going? How can we support each other? What works for this person?

“I’m 59-years-old. It impacts today, every day.”

Group sessions will be bound by five core guidelines: respect for each other, a commitment to confidentiality, no explicit descriptions of participants’ abuse histories, no questioning participants about their abuse histories and no unsolicited advice.

“That structure is there for a reason,” Mr Constable said.

“It’s been tried and tested.”

Janet said an important aspect of the sessions was that participants were not required to speak if they did not feel comfortable.

“It’s pure acceptance. You come as you are, no matter what.

“That underlying knowledge that all of these people have been through what you’ve been through, that’s one barrier you don’t have to worry about if deciding to come to the group.

“We’re here and we’ll be here next time.”

For more information, leave Michael Constable a message on 0403 425 627.

For more information, head to his blog at conversationsaboutlife.org

If you or someone you know needs family or domestic violence support, head to safvcentre.org.au or phone their 24/7 family violence hotline on 1800 015 188 or their sexual assault crisis hotline on 1800 806 292. If you are in immediate danger, phone the police on 000.