From surviving to thriving

Child Sexual Abuse robs a child of their childhood. For a child to suffer sexual abuse is tragic. For a child to speak of the trauma is harder. For a child to not receive proper support is devastating.

The scope of support is wide and complex especially when it comes to child sexual abuse. It is not just the survivor of abuse that requires support, but also those close to the survivor whom requires assistance, especially when the abuser is a family member. Proper intervention support and treatment is vital to overcome the impact of sexual abuse, from direct emotional and psychological interference to other side effects of victimisation.

Support is an integral part to healing, and so P.S. the Children works towards building and strengthening effective support mechanisms through various therapeutic services, referrals and networking.

Support Services

The chief component of P.S. The Children’s current support services is counselling and therapy. In the earlier days, P.S. The Children began as a tailored Child Support Worker programme which trained volunteers to provide support by way of befriending, promoting positive parenting, facilitating contact in events of communication breakdown, and prevention of re-victimisation. With experience, this programme developed into the training and recruitment of fulltime counsellors and psychologists who provide specialised therapy.

A) Support through the healing process with therapy or counselling.

•     Individual Therapy
A more personalised and in-depth approach with techniques used that include art, role-play, imagery, journal keeping, letter writing, story telling, music, sand tray and clay.

•     Group Therapy
A supportive approach, this method allows children to confront and work through experiences with a group of peers who are facing the same issues. This is powerful in the healing process because a sexually abused child often feels isolated from his/her peers. Sharing their experiences in a group can lessen this loneliness.

B) Case intervention support through the reporting process and court trials.

We provide support to those who wish to report cases of child sexual abuse. Our support includes providing relevant information through to accompanying them to the police stations and hospitals in the reporting process. When needed, we also provide court support by coordinating with the local social welfare services to prepare children for court and assist in the arrangement of a watching brief by a volunteer lawyer.

C) Phone counselling and other referral services.

    We provide phone counselling and our past enquiries have included:

• sexual abuse
• physical abuse
• emotional abuse
• withdrawal symptoms
• behavioural problems
• seeking child care
• seeking shelter
• sexuality
• poor anger management
• suspected drug abuse
• teenage pregnancy
• relationships (friends & family)
• studies
• career
• self-esteem