Healing from Sexual Assault: Support is Available When You’re Ready
Experiencing sexual assault is a deeply painful and traumatic event. It can affect your body, mind, and emotions in ways you might not even realize. Trauma from assault can show up in many forms—nightmares, anxiety, difficulty trusting others, or even physical symptoms like chronic pain or tension. Shame often accompanies this trauma, and reaching out for help can feel overwhelming. But you don’t have to go through it alone.
At Nest Counseling, we are trained in trauma-informed care and specialize in helping survivors of sexual assault. We use approaches like somatic therapy and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to gently guide you through the healing process. Somatic therapy helps you reconnect with your body, releasing the trauma that gets stored in it, while EMDR can allow you to process traumatic memories without needing to recount every detail. This can be especially helpful if revisiting those moments feels too difficult.
We know that accessing therapy can feel like another hurdle, which is why Pennsylvania’s Victims Compensation Assistance Program is available to help cover up to $5,000 for therapy ($10,000 if the crime occurred when you were a child). Importantly, you don’t have to have reported the assault to the police to qualify for this support, but the crime must have occurred in Pennsylvania.
Therapy can be a safe space to process what happened at your own pace. Whether you’re dealing with flashbacks, shame, or numbness, we’re here to help you feel heard and supported. Our team is compassionate, experienced, and focused on helping you heal.
If you decide to begin counseling, you may start to feel more connected to yourself and your body, find relief from overwhelming emotions, and begin to reclaim your sense of safety and control. Healing is possible, and taking that first step can lead to profound positive change.
You are not alone, and when you’re ready, we’re here to support you. Reach out today to begin your journey toward healing.
