Counseling & Support Groups

Whether your experience happened recently or years ago as a child, it’s never too late to get the help and support you need. Counseling can be a helpful resource and a tool for healing.

Individual Therapy

The Care Center counselors provide trauma-informed, specialized support to people of all ages and genders who have experienced sexual trauma or abuse. All services are completely free-of-charge and confidential.

Since everyone’s experience is unique and everyone needs something different, The Care Center counseling services are flexible and individualized. When working with The Care Center counselors, the following options are available:

You can learn about how trauma affects the brain and the body.
You can learn about symptoms and gain coping skills for managing them.
Counselors offer a safe and understanding place for you to process your feelings, whatever they may be.
Therapy can be short term crisis intervention or you can choose to continue therapy for up to a year.
You are allowed to bring a support person along.
Counselors often coordinate with other mental health providers to make sure you are getting wrap-around services.
Individual therapy is also available to the friends, family, and loved ones of victims and survivors.

To learn more about The Care Center individual therapy services, call at 785-843-8985 or email amie@stacarecenter.org.

Child & Family Therapy

The Care Center provides therapy to children and adolescents. Often a child or youth feels anxious about starting therapy and it is helpful to inform them that they have the choice to decide whether they want therapy, and if it is the right fit.

Child clients will not be expected to recount details of the abuse; instead, therapy often focuses on addressing emotional and psychological distress through increased ability to identify and communicate feelings, development of coping skills, increase in self-esteem, and strengthening family cohesion. The treatment plan and goals for therapy are developed based on the youth’s specific symptoms and needs, as the focus.

A few therapeutic modalities utilized are Play Therapy, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Art, and Bibliotherapy. Also, youth typically receive education around the neurobiology of trauma, boundaries, and consent- among other topics.

When a child or teen discloses sexual abuse it is typically quite distressing to the adult caregiver in their life. Any connected loved ones are considered a ‘secondary survivor’ and are also eligible to receive therapy through the Care Center. Secondary survivors’ best method of support for child clients is to listen in a non-judgmental manner, without pushing for details. Each person has their own individual perceptions and needs regarding who to disclose to, and how much information to share- respecting this boundary is key to helping child clients gain a sense of control.

Support Groups

The Care Center currently offers support groups in Douglas, Jefferson, and Franklin Counties. Groups are free and confidential. Facilitated by the Support Group Coordinator, groups focus on cultivating a trauma-informed safe space for peers to support and believe one another and to develop anxiety soothing skills. To learn more about joining a support group, please call 785-843-8985.

Open Support Groups:

The Care Center is not currently hosting in-person support groups. Updates will be provided as soon as they are available.

Online Support Groups:

The Care Center hosts confidential online support groups on Thursdays at 4pm. Topics will vary by session. To join an online support group, visit: https://affiliate.rainn.org/helproom/thecarecenter. You will only be able to enter the chatroom at the specified dates and times. For more information on online support groups, or for help joining the online support group, please call 785-843-8985.

Counseling & Support Groups FAQ

What can counseling or support groups offer me?

Counseling and support groups can help in a variety of ways. It can help to reduce shame and guilt by understanding that the assault or abuse was not your fault. Our counselors can help process your feelings of confusion or anxiety. Counseling and support groups also offer education on how trauma affects the brain and the body. You can learn about your symptoms and gain coping skills for managing them. Many people find a benefit in having a dedicated, private place to talk to someone about their experiences that is separate from their workplace or home life.

Will I have to retell or relive my experiences?

No. At The Care Center, you will NOT be asked to relive the assault during the counseling process, as that is unnecessary and can be re-traumatizing. Instead, your counselor will teach you skills designed to help you stabilize and heal. For those filling out intake forms for counseling, there are some questions related to your experience, but they are completely optional.

Are The Care Center counselors mandated reporters?

While our volunteer and staff advocates are not mandated reporters, our Counseling staff are mandated reporters for instances of abuse or neglect with children under the age of 18, adults over the age of 60, or a person with a disability. This is typical of licensed mental health professionals and is always discussed within the first meeting. It is important to note that while our volunteer and staff advocates are not mandated reporters, there are certain circumstances in which we may feel the need to make a report. This is always communicated before a report of any kind is made however. The Care Center Advocates and Therapists are not Title IX mandated reporters for schools or universities.