Therapy: Are you ready?

It’s possible for victims of sexual violence to access therapy through SV2 at any time regardless of when the abuse happened or whether you reported or not.

It’s also possible that you might not be ready for therapy. Before therapy can take place, an initial assessment will be arranged to assess your needs and readiness.

Below are some basic ‘must haves’ to benefit from our therapy service. Please consider the following before making a referral:

• You are ready to talk about the sexual abuse or rape that you experienced
• You are not using any substances on a regular basis
• You are open to expressing your feelings through talking or creative methods such as drawing
• You have effective ways of taking care of yourself in between sessions if you felt triggered
• You are ready to make sense of your experiences
• You are ready to face potentially difficult emotions and memories that may arise
• You are not in residential mental health services
• You are not suicidal or at the risk of suicide

If you don’t feel confident about some or all of these statements, it may mean that therapy at SV2 isn’t the service for you at this time, however please give us a call if you would like to discuss this before deciding to refer.

Here is a list of other services available to you that might be useful at this time:

Derbyshire Substance Misuse Services

Trent PTS – Psychological Therapies Service

First Steps – Eating Disorders

Derby Homes

Derby City Mission – Foodbanks, Night Shelters, Debt and Advice Clinics

Women’s Work

Derby Women’s Centre

Derby City Life Links – Mental Health services

Helplines:

Mind: Helpline 0300 394 7000

Samaritans: (Derby and District) 01332 364444

Samaritans: UK Support Line 116 123

Safeline: Male Survivors Helpline 0808 800 5005

Rape Crisis Centre: Female Survivors Helpline 0808 802 9999