Recovery from Abuse
At Given to Fly, we offer a trauma-informed and compassionate space for individuals recovering from physical, emotional, psychological, and narcissistic abuse. Healing from abuse is not about “moving on” quickly—it is about rebuilding safety, trust, identity, and self-worth at a pace that honours your experiences. Together, we work to help you reconnect with yourself, understand the impact of what you’ve been through, and begin to feel grounded in your life again.
“You are not broken. You are breaking through."- Alex Myles
Abuse Recovery Counselling
“Was it really that bad?”
After experiences of abuse, it is common to doubt your own perceptions, especially if you were dismissed, minimized, or gaslit. You may find yourself questioning your memories, your reactions, or whether what happened “counts.” Part of healing is learning to trust your experience again.
“Why do I still care about someone who hurt me?”
It is common to feel conflicting emotions after abuse, especially when there was manipulation, attachment, or periods of care mixed with harm. These mixed feelings do not mean you are confused—they reflect the complexity of human attachment and relational trauma.
“Scars are not signs of weakness, they are signs of survival and endurance.” - Rodney A. Winters
Types of Abuse
Emotional and Psychological Abuse
Emotional abuse can include manipulation, gaslighting, intimidation, control, humiliation, or chronic invalidation. Over time, these experiences can deeply impact self-worth, confidence, and your ability to trust your own perceptions.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse involves any form of bodily harm or threat of harm. Recovery often involves both emotional healing and rebuilding a sense of safety in the body and in relationships.
Narcissistic and Relational Abuse
Narcissistic abuse often involves cycles of idealization, devaluation, and emotional manipulation. You may have experienced confusion, self-doubt, and difficulty identifying your own needs or reality within the relationship.
Coercive Control
Coercive control refers to patterns of domination, restriction, and psychological control that can gradually erode independence, autonomy, and self-trust over time.
Emotional Manipulation
Gaslighting can leave you questioning your memory, judgment, or sense of reality. Over time, this can significantly impact confidence and create deep internal confusion.
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Post-Separation Abuse
Even after leaving an abusive relationship, some individuals continue to experience harassment, intimidation, or emotional impact through ongoing contact, legal systems, or shared responsibilities such as parenting.
“What happened to you was not your fault. But healing is your responsibility.” - Unknown
Getting Help for Abuse Recovery
As a therapist, I specialize in antagonistic abuse. I provide a supportive space where your experiences are believed, validated, and explored with care. Together, we focus on helping you rebuild safety within yourself, reconnect with your identity, and begin to restore trust in your thoughts, emotions, and boundaries.
Rebuild Self-Trust
Reduce Shame And Blame
Process Trauma
Therapy For Abuse Approach
Recovery from abuse is a gradual and deeply individual process. Using a trauma-informed, culturally curious, and attachment-based lens, we work together to understand how past experiences have shaped your sense of self, relationships, and nervous system responses. Depending on your needs, therapy may include Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), or Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) can help process traumatic memories and reduce their emotional intensity so they no longer feel as present or overwhelming in daily life. Somatic interventions and mindfulness-based approaches also help restore a sense of safety in the body.