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In every paper we read and on every programme we watch or listen to, abuse is a regular occurrence. Hardly a day goes by without the local or national news containing a tragic item of abuse. Abuse takes many forms including sexual, mental, physical, child and racial abuse and can vary in the degree of its violence. What is consistent throughout all abuse, is that there is a victim and in addition to being subjected to horrifying levels of abuse, they have to survive this trauma. Often survival can only be achieved with the help of therapy.

There are several problems facing an abuse survivor when they are trying to find a therapist, or in the case of children, when their parents or carers are seeking help for the child, many of which may initially be seemingly impossible to overcome.

EXPERIENCE

As with any other professions, no therapist will be an expert in dealing with the recovery from all the variant forms of abuse, and the abuse survivor needs a person who uniquely understands what they have been through and the best way in which recovery from this can be commenced.

Organisations such as the police Victim's support office and other societies that specialise in helping people who have suffered similar abuse may be able to provide lists of therapists specialising in the required field of abuse. It is important for the abuse victim or their families and carers to make good use of these sources to ensure that the right therapist is located.

CONTACT

Perhaps the most difficult step an abuse survivor has to take is that of making the initial contact with a therapist. Often the victim will find it incredibly hard to talk about the damage that has been inflicted upon them. An integral consequence of this reaction is that the survivor may find it difficult to be in a one to one physical situation with another person, irrespective of the fact that person is trying to help them. Sometimes it is simply the fact another person is within the survivor's space that is perceived as a threat.

There are ways that this problem can be overcome. The first is that the victim could use one of the increasing numbers of on-line therapists as a smaller step between their wanting of seclusion and actually meeting with a therapist. A second method is to initiate the contact with the therapist by direct correspondence. In this way the abuse survivor does not have to make physical contact with the therapist until they feel able to do so. The third option that might help involves someone they

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