"I was able to acknowledge my own emotions and find self-compassion and forgive myself for what I saw as mistakes."

A survivor of child sexual abuse, Penny* did not want to ‘rake up’ details of what had happened to her in the past but instead wanted to understand why she was so self-critical in the present. After accessing Survive counselling, Penny was able to acknowledge her emotions, show self-compassion and forgive herself for what she saw as mistakes.

She was able to reconnect with my mother and piece together happy memories and change the narrative that her whole childhood had been abusive.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the survivor. Images are for illustrative purposes only.