Established in 2007, the volunteer-based counselling group has grown to seven dedicated counsellors. Carol Badenhorst, head of the centre based at Douglasdale Police Station, explained that many times, victims of crime struggled to cope with the emotional burden caused from their traumatic experiences.
“Many people are surprised at just how emotional they feel after a crime. These strong emotions can, in turn, make you feel even more unsettled and confused,” she explained.
According to Helen Hajiyiannis, a former researcher at the Trauma Clinic of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, victims of crime were often plagued with feelings of fear, being easily startled, and sometimes suffered physical symptoms such as headaches, difficulty sleeping and poor concentration.
She added that individuals may experience rapid changes in mood, anxiety, uncharacteristic anger outbursts and irritability. In more severe cases, victims may be haunted by distressing nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive memories of the event.
Badenhorst explained that it was important to help people understand that such symptoms were normal reactions to abnormal events.
According to Badenhorst, an important function of trauma counselling involved allowing victims to talk about their experiences in a safe and uncritical environment.
The trauma counsellors provide trauma counselling to anyone who has been a victim of crime, by assisting them learn how to cope with the effects and nature of their trauma.
“Being a victim of crime can have a terribly debilitating effect on one and if left unchecked may lead to long-term symptoms such as depression,” Badenhorst said.
She explained that timely intervention in the form of trauma counselling could make a huge difference when trying to come to terms with what had happened. Badenhorst added that the unit provided counselling services for various incidents including rape, hijacking, house robberies, business robberies and domestic violence.
All sessions were supervised by a clinical psychologist, and the unit offers up to three free counselling sessions. The unit also has a 24-hour, seven days per week phone line for victim support.
Details: 078 850 2341.
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