Abuse Counselling
Navigating Abuse And Its Impact
Support for Emotional Wounds, Trauma, and Reclaiming Your Inner Safety
If you are in immediate danger:
Call 999.
For confidential, 24-hour support, contact Refuge (0808 2000 247).
The information below assumes you are safe enough to read and consider therapy.
Whether You Are Currently Experiencing Abuse or Processing Past Harm
Abuse can affect anyone. You may be in an abusive situation now, or you may be dealing with the long-term impact of harm from the past. Therapy can help you stabilise your emotions, understand your experiences, and explore safe options at your own pace.
You retain control over what you share and when, and we work together to help you regain a sense of inner safety.
When You’ve Been Controlled, Hurt, or Silenced
Abuse disrupts your sense of self, your ability to trust your own perceptions, and your internal safety. It can take many forms:
Emotional, psychological, or verbal.
Physical or sexual.
Financial or coercive.
Abuse can happen in intimate relationships, families, workplaces, or online. Most people don’t recognise abuse immediately. Instead, they notice its effects:
Feeling constantly on edge or scanning for danger.
Doubting your memory or judgment.
Shrinking yourself to avoid conflict.
Feeling criticised, watched, or controlled.
Shame, guilt, or confusion.
Emotional numbness or panic.
Flashbacks or intrusive memories.
Difficulty trusting yourself or others.
These reactions are survival responses — not weaknesses.
What Abuse Does to the Mind
Chronic abuse trains your nervous system to expect danger. You may:
Freeze, dissociate, or appease to stay safe.
Over-function to avoid conflict.
Disconnect from your emotions.
These coping strategies are normal in context but can make relationships, boundaries, and self-esteem feel fragile long after the abuse stops.
Therapy is not about reliving trauma. It is about helping you:
Rebuild emotional stability where safe.
Re-establish trust in your perceptions.
Understand trauma responses (fight/flight/freeze/fawn).
Let go of self-blame.
Make sense of fear, anger, guilt, and grief.
Regain authority over your life at your own pace.
How Abuse Counselling Works at Sommers Psychotherapy
Explore your experiences and what you want to achieve.
Identify immediate priorities: safety, stabilisation, and trauma responses.
Clarify confidentiality and its limits, including safeguarding responsibilities.
You set the pace; disclosure is never forced.
Establish a stable, supportive therapeutic relationship.
Lay the foundation for all trauma work.
Examine the parts of yourself carrying fear, shame, anger, or numbness.
Understand how past experiences influence identity, relationships, and current patterns.
Integrative approach using CFT, IFS, psychodynamic reflection, and other trauma-informed therapies.
Recognise patterns of harm and coercion.
Build and practise boundaries that protect your wellbeing.
Support safe decision-making and self-advocacy.
Strengthen your connection to your values and identity.
Consolidate insights and skills into daily life.
Restore a sense of control, dignity, and personal authority.
What We Work On Together
Rebuilding trust in your own perceptions and inner voice.
Stabilising trauma responses such as hypervigilance, dissociation, or panic.
Processing fear, shame, guilt, or grief.
Reducing self-blame and internalised criticism.
Strengthening emotional resilience and self-esteem.
Establishing healthy relationships and boundaries.
Navigating cultural, family, or relational pressures.
Recovering from domestic, sexual, emotional, or coercive abuse.
Enhancing clarity, confidence, and a renewed sense of dignity.
External support, such as Women’s Aid, Refuge, local domestic violence services, legal advocacy, or peer support groups, may also complement therapy and support your safety.
Common Misconceptions
Abuse isn’t always physical.
Leaving isn’t always immediately possible or safe.
Experiencing fear, confusion, or ambivalence is common — none of it is your fault.
Therapy helps you make sense of your experiences and plan for safety on your terms.
Why Choose Sommers Psychotherapy
Accredited Professionals with Clinical Expertise
All therapists are UKCP or BACP accredited and trained in trauma-focused methods.
Safe, Confidential Environment
Private, non-judgemental space where you can talk openly.
Flexible, Accessible Therapy
Sessions in London or online, depending on safety.
Relational, Evidence-Based Approach
We combine trauma-informed talking therapy, IFS (a parts-based approach to understanding and healing internal emotional conflicts), psychodynamic work, and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) to rebuild internal and external safety.
Long-Term Emotional Wellbeing
The goal is lasting clarity, confidence, and reconnection with your identity.
Ready to Begin?
Reaching out is a decisive act of reclaiming power.
You do not have to navigate abuse, trauma, or coercive control alone.
Book a confidential session and start rebuilding your safety, clarity, and sense of self.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you feel controlled, afraid, silenced, or destabilised, something is harming you. We’ll explore it without labels or pressure.
No. You set the pace. Stabilisation comes first.
Yes, with safeguarding exceptions explained in your first session.
Yes. Video, phone, or secure text options are available, provided it’s safe to participate privately.
Varies per individual. Some benefit from short-term support, others need longer-term therapy to process trauma and rebuild resilience.
FEES - Please contact each practitioner directly.
£110
For in-person sessions
£95
For online sessions