When each of us is ready - and not before - we begin our healing journey. It happens in stages, over time. When we feel stronger, we re-engage with those who are safe enough to hold our truth. Eventually, we notice we have built a superpower. We see boundary crossings in real time. And, we have the courage and skills to stop harm from reaching yet another child.
Healing circles are intimate, confidential spaces for us, made up of 8-10 individuals who share a similar personal experience with child sexual abuse. In these Healing Circles, we have the opportunity to better understand our own unique experiences and the impact that abuse has had on us over time.
At Hidden Water, we offer opportunities to participate in what we call MultiColor Experiences. These spaces are made up of participants from various colors, all engaged in their own healing work. In these spaces, we, as participants, have the opportunity to share our experiences and hold space for what is true for others without it threatening our own reality or healthy boundaries.
Our Hidden Water community is in a unique position to prevent child sexual abuse from reaching the children in our lives. The first step to stopping harm from happening is to overcome our understandable reactions to turn away from the emotional intensity. That takes healing. Second, we must learn to intervene in boundary crossings in compassionate ways that call people in, not push them further out; this will go a long way in prevention. And when someone does disclose harm of any kind, knowing how to hold it so healing can take root is vital to keeping harm from reoccurring to that child, or even the next one."
