Young People (13-17 years)
No matter what or when it happened, at Birchall, we are here to support you.
Sexual abuse is any unwanted sexual activity. It includes childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, sexual harassment, FGM (female genital mutilation), sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.
As a young person/teenager, you can contact Birchall directly.
We welcome anyone who identifies as female, male, straight, lesbian, gay, trans, non-binary or other.
How can we help?
We want to help young people living in the shadows of abuse to start leading the lives they want and deserve.
We are here to help you make sense of your story and come to terms with how sexual violence has impacted your life.
We offer weekly counselling sessions to young people who have experienced rape and/or sexual abuse in South Cumbria and North Lancashire.
We also offer the counselling service to friends and family of young people who have experienced rape and/or sexual abuse so they can help their loved ones through their counselling journey.
All of our counsellors are qualified, experienced and registered with a professional body. They have specialist trauma training alongside their counselling qualification and understand how childhood sexual abuse, rape or sexual assault impacts a young persons life. We are here to support you in a non-judgemental and sensitive way.
Impact
Sexual abuse can have a profound impact on a young person’s life, it can stop the young person living the life they choose and without support can have a huge impact on your long term emotional and physical wellbeing.
If you have experienced sexual abuse, rape or a sexual assault of any kind you may find it difficult to talk about.
Whether you’re facing talking about an historic event (s) or something that has happened more recently, it is helpful to talk to a trained professional.
Young people impacted by sexual abuse are probably living with some painful feelings that need to be processed, you may recognise some or all of these feelings below:
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Feeling numb, or shut down
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Feeling anger, sadness and confusion
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Feelings of shame and guilt
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Feeling like it’s “your fault” or you’re somehow to blame
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Feeling like you cannot go on
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Feeling afraid, scared
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Feeling dirty and damaged
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Silenced, or afraid to speak about what has happened
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Feeling stressed and anxious
An app that links young people with local services, self-help resources; including apps, podcasts, blogs and videos and helps you create and plan your own wellbeing and resilience action plan.
Helpful Apps
The Stay Alive app is a suicide prevention resource for the UK, packed full of useful information and tools to help you stay safe in crisis.
Feeling Good Teens is a free app that supports development of emotional regulation, self-esteem, resilience, and goal-focused motivation.
Worried about
self-harm?
Calm Harm is a free app that helps you manage or
resist the urge to self-harm.