How we do it
Drugs, alcohol misuse and other forms of self-harming are ways in which some people who were abused have managed to cope and somehow get on with their lives. Family members are often affected too. By getting help and support from the charity, these ‘coping skills’ can be replaced by others that are just as helpful but far less harmful.
The Impact of Trauma
Abuse or neglect in childhood can lead to complex consequences for adults. Drug or alcohol misuse or other ways of self-harming, as a means of coping makes sense when we hear the stories survivors tell of the pain and distress they have experienced.
The Revolving Door
Unless the underlying causal factors of self-harm are addressed through specialist interventions, the likelihood of relapse, which costs the state millions of pounds each year, is increased.
The Cycle of Harm
Stage 1 – Human capacity for love, emotion and choice
Stage 2 – This capacity can be frustrated and frozen in childhood by trauma
Stage 3 – Dysfunctional behaviour e.g. violence, silence, self-harm etc.
Stage 4 – Substance misuse in order to suppress emotional pain
Stage 5 – The situation becomes compounded by dependency
Stage 6 – Acqusitive crime becomes necessary to fund dependency
Stage 7 – Access treatment services to address the presenting problem i.e dependency
Stage 8 – Specialist abuse/trauma counselling to address causal factors
Stage 9 – Recovery or relapse > Download the full PDF chart here
