Empowerment Group
The Empowerment Group is a specialty group for the support of individuals that have been wounded by sexual abuse.
Abuse strikes at the very core of a person’s sense of worth and value. Those who have been abused have been taught that their needs and feelings are unimportant. They have learned to hide for protection and to be hypersensitive to the direction from which the next blow, or painful encounter, may come. Their focus is on the abuser, to calm the raging storm, or to prepare for the unexpected. They learn to hide vulnerability, to distrust their deepest needs, and never let down their guard of self-protection and control. In essence, they lose their ability to be real…to be free…to be themselves. The only sensible option for coping is to freeze, hide, or numb who they really are. We can pretend, but there is nobody else that we can really ever be.
The word “empowerment” speaks to the very heart of healing for victims of abuse. Healing comes when victims are empowered to be honest and real. Having survived the abuse, they can find the power to tell their stories, share their feelings, and identify and meet their deepest needs. They can learn to disagree with those who abused them, caring for the hurts and touching wounds with kindness and sensitivity. They can learn to listen to their fears and to protect that which is vulnerable and weak.
Victims of abuse intuitively know how to support others who have similar wounds, but are often clueless as to how to do the same things for themselves. This is why group therapy can be such an effective part of the healing strategy. Giving and receiving care in a group that is safe and supportive empowers victims of abuse to honestly express themselves without the fear of new hurts and rejection. When emotional wounds are honestly shared and group members meet each other with kindness and support, a deep level healing can occur.