Trauma Recovery Resources
Are you struggling with Complex PTSD, anxiety, or triggers? Perhaps, you are a trauma survivor who’s looking for practical ways to cope? Or you want to move beyond merely surviving to fully thriving? If so, you’ve come to the right place. A safe space. As a trauma survivor, author, speaker, and coach, I know what it’s like to feel stuck in old patterns. I understand how the normal trauma response of being slammed with fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. We don’t want to be repeatedly going around and around in this vicious cycle. This is why I have created a professional list of trauma resources. Because sometimes asking for help or obtaining emotional support is the first step to our trauma recovery. If you are currently in the midst of picking up the shattered pieces of your past abuse, please know that: I hear you. I see you. I believe you. Your life and health matter. You deserve to heal.
Remember that the diamond didn’t become a radiant, beautiful diamond easily. Instead, it had to first be refined through the fire. Like a sparkling diamond, you are being refined. May you have the courage and strength to shine brightly.
“A diamond doesn’t start out polished and shining. It once was nothing special, but with enough pressure and time, becomes spectacular.” ~ Solange Nicole PROFESSIONAL TRAUMA RECOVERY RESOURCES:
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)
Center for Disease Control & prevention – Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years) such as experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect; witnessing violence in the home; and having a family member attempt or die by suicide. Also included are aspects of the child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding such as growing up in a household with substance misuse, mental health problems, or instability due to parental separation or incarceration of a parent, sibling, or other member of the household. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy/aboutace.html
Children's Advocacy
Child Help National Child Abuse Hotline – They are dedicated to the prevention of child abuse. Serving the U.S. and Canada, the hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with professional crisis counselors – who through interpreters – provide assistance in over 170 languages. The hotline offers crisis intervention, information, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social services, and support resources. Hotline: 1-800-422-4453
https://www.childhelp.org/hotline/
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children – They are a private, nonprofit corporation whose mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization. Hotline: 1-800-843-5678 http://api.missingkids.org/home
National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC) – They are located in Huntsville, Alabama and they have revolutionized the United States’ response to child sexual abuse. Since its creation in 1985, the NCAC has served as a model for the 1000+ Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) now operating in the United States and in more than 34 countries throughout the world. Hotline: 1-800-422-4453 https://www.nationalcac.org/
Domestic Violence
National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, & Mental Health – Their mission is to develop and promote accessible, culturally relevant, and trauma-informed responses to domestic violence and other lifetime trauma so that survivors and their children can access the resources that are essential to their safety and well-being. They provide training, support, and consultation to advocates, mental health and substance abuse providers, legal professionals, and policymakers as they work to improve agency and systems-level responses to survivors and their children. Their work is survivor defined and rooted in principles of social justice. http://www.nationalcenterdvtraumamh.org/about/
National Domestic Violence Hotline – The National Violence Hotline is a nonprofit organization established in 1966 as a component of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). They provide lifesaving tools and immediate support to enable victims to find safety and live free from abuse. Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 https://www.thehotline.org/
Mind-Body Connection
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. – He is the founder and medical director of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is also a professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine and director of the National Complex Trauma Treatment Network. In addition, he’s the #1 New York Times best-selling author of the book, The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. In his book, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both the body and brain, compromising the sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments – from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga – that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity.
https://besselvanderkolk.net/index.html
Dr. Gabor Mate’ – He is a renowned speaker and best-selling author who is highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics, including child development, addiction, stress, chronic pain, and trauma. Dr. Mate’ is the author of When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress, which explores the mind-body connection of medical conditions linked to stress. https://drgabormate.com/
Dr. John Sarno, M.D. – He was a professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, and attending physician at the Howard A. Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. From 1984 to 2006, Dr. Sarno wrote four books pertaining to pain disorders that he called Tension Myoneural Syndrome (TMS). Dr. Sarno is the New York Times best-selling author of Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection.
Peter A. Levine, PhD. – He is the originator and developer of Somatic Experiencing and the Director of The Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute. Peter holds a doctorate degree in Medical Biophysics and Psychology. During his thirty-five-year study of stress and trauma, he has contributed to a variety of scientific and popular publications. Also, he’s the best-selling author of the book, Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. https://traumahealing.org/
CPTSD Foundation
Successfully equipping trauma survivors and practitioners with compassionate support, skills, and trauma-informed education since 2014. Toll-free in the US: 844-552-7873. International: 917-780-4750 CPTSD Foundation
Sexual Assault Hotline
RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) – They are the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sex Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that predators are brought to justice. Hotline: 1-800-656-4673 https://www.rainn.org/
Assaulted Women’s Helpline – This Canadian organization offers a 24 hour telephone and a TTY crisis line to all women who have experienced abuse. They provide counseling, emotional support, information, and referrals. The helpline is dedicated to working towards equality for all women. Hotline: 1-866-863-0511 http://www.awhl.org/
Male Survivors of Sexual Assault & Abuse
Every man who has experienced sexual assault or abuse deserves access to a judgment-free space where he can heal on his own terms and without shame. For 25 years, MaleSurvivor has fostered a healing community where tens of thousands of men from more than 200 countries come together to find support, information, and most importantly, hope. Contact them at MaleSurvivor, P.O. Box 276, Long Valley, New Jersey 07853, https://www.malesurvivor.org Male Sexual Assault & Abuse Support for Men | MaleSurvivor
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward many are strong at the broke places.” ~ Ernest Hemingway