Resources

This guide is for family, friends, partners, carers and others who are supporting an adult who has experienced any form of sexual trauma, either recently, or in the past.

The guide aims to provide information to help understand the impacts of sexual trauma and how the experience can change behaviours, thoughts, emotions and wellbeing. It also contains suggestions on coping and recovery, and guidance on how to support the person you care about.

Legal and service information in this guide is applicable to Western Australia. If you live in another location, you will need to source information relevant to your area.

Find out how a traumatised child swings from fight/flight to freeze/collapse; and what adults can do to help bring the child back into their window of tolerance so they can be at their personal best.

Blue Knot Foundation has developed a series of 5 short videos with funding from Federal Department of Health.

Given the prevalence of trauma and its effects, it is important for people to be informed about trauma and how best to support people who may have experienced it, particularly complex trauma related to trauma and abuse in childhood.

The Healing Foundation is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation that provides a platform to amplify the voices and lived experience of Stolen Generations survivors and their families.

We work with communities to create a place of safety, providing an environment for Stolen Generations survivors and their families to speak for themselves, tell their own stories, and be in charge of their own healing.

We promote trauma-aware, healing-informed practice to help government, policymakers, and workforces understand their role in intergenerational healing.

By addressing unresolved trauma in First Nations communities – trauma that was caused by colonisation and actions like the forced removal of children – we are walking alongside communities on the path to healing.

We are governed by a First Nations Board and Executive and guided in our work by our Stolen Generations and Youth Reference Groups.

Our work honours our First Nations ancestors to ensure our future generations continue to thrive for the next 60,000 years.

Learn how to identify the signs of child sexual abuse and reduce the risks

The loved ones of people with a history of complex play a vital role in supporting and caring for their loved ones. But some days, it is hard to make sense of it all. Heather Tuba shares five quotes that help her do that better.

Survivors of childhood trauma deserve all the peace and security that a loving relationship can provide. But a history of abuse or neglect can make trusting another person feel terrifying. Trying to form an intimate relationship may lead to frightening missteps and confusion.

How can we better understand the impact of trauma, and help survivors find the love, friendship and support they and their partner deserve?

Helping Minds offers free and confidential support to the family and friends of people living with mental health challenges across WA.

The impact of childhood trauma on children, as captured in their drawings.

Resources for the public on trauma and dissociative disorders, including FAQs for parents and for teachers; Fact Sheets for caregivers; information on how to support someone who lives with dissociative identities; and websites of interest for people with dissociative identity disorder.

Find out about the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. You can find out what your ACE score is, and more importantly, what your Resilience Score is.

ACESTooHigh is a news site that reports on research about positive and adverse childhood experiences, including developments in epidemiology, neurobiology, and the biomedical and epigenetic consequences of toxic stress. We also cover how people, organizations, agencies and communities are implementing practices and policies based on the research. This includes developments in education, juvenile justice, criminal justice, public health, medicine, mental health, social services, and cities, counties and states.

This series of Fact Sheets explains more about what happens with experiences of complex trauma, the effects, the reactions people have, the way people cope and possibilities for healing. If you have experienced Complex Trauma or are supporting someone who has, we hope this series will build your understanding, add to your knowledge and support your journey.

Fact sheet to help you if you are supporting a family member, friend, partner or someone you care about to recover from childhood trauma or abuse.

The information can help you understand what happened to the person, how it affected them, how they coped and what you can do to support them.

It also highlights the importance of building a safe trusting relationship with the person you are supporting

It is one in a series of fact sheets written specifically for survivors and supporters affected by complex trauma, including childhood trauma and abuse.

There are also other series of fact sheets which explain some of the issues raised in these fact sheets in more detail. You can find them on our website under 'Resources - Fact Sheets'

This website provides information, education, and help to those adversely affected by or interested in cultic and other high-control groups and relationships.

The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is a global network of people concerned about psychological manipulation and abuse in cultic and other high-control environments.

Their ‘How can we help you?’ page has cult-specific resources for survivors, their loved ones, and professionals; as well as a long list of pertinent ‘Cults 101’ resources.

A child-focused web page about refugees and refugee trauma. It describes core stressors, and highlights the further stressors that refugees experience with regards to resettlement, acculturation, and isolation; and lists both general and age-specific difficulties that refugee children tend to have. This website features helpful resources for screening, assessment, and intervention.

Information and resources are available for multiple audiences, including for survivors, mental health professionals, healthcare providers, school personnel, policy makers, and more. This website only captures the essence of refugee trauma, but also directs the reader to more detailed information about refugees and refugee trauma via its 'External Resources' tab.

Refer to the ASeTTS website for information on refugee services in Western Australia.

The Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors (ASeTTS) provide services to local refugees and those who have experienced torture or trauma in their country of origin, during their flight to Australia, or while in detention. ASSeTTS has offices in North Bridge and Mirrabooka.

Anyone can be referred to ASeTTS if they are from a refugee-like background and have experienced torture or trauma, no matter how long they have been in Australia. Anyone can make a referral to ASeTTS, including service providers, medical professionals, a family member or friend of the person or the person themselves.

Use the referral form in this link to access support for someone who has survived torture and/or trauma and if they are from a refugee background; present with emotional or psychological symptoms; have torture or trauma experiences; or present with mental health issues.

A very thorough (but not exhaustive) glossary of various different types of psychotherapy. You can click on a therapy type and get the definition and/or a description; when it is used; what to expect; how it works; what to look for in a therapist who offers the therapy type; and references.

The Complex Trauma Resources website was developed for "people who don't fit into neat little boxes and everyone who cares about them", by people whose professional backgrounds in the trauma field have been informed by their own lived experiences.

The website's objective is to offer "the most comprehensive repository of information and resources on complex trauma", that is comprehensible to members of the public and professionals alike. It includes resources for young people and those who care about them; information on the effects of complex trauma on brain development; parenting after trauma; the effects of emotional abuse and neglect; racial trauma; recommended books and other resources; as well as summaries about helpful treatment interventions for children, young people, and adults; and complementary and alternative techniques and interventions often used with complex trauma clients.

Blue Knot developed this series of fact sheets to increase understanding about memory; and to tackle some of the common myths. These fact sheets are informed by the latest research, and are designed to improve understanding around memory - including the relationship between trauma and memory; body memories; delayed recall of memory; and the role of dissociation.

If you have experiences of complex trauma or if you are supporting someone who has, this section will help you to better understand why and how trauma affects people's memory.

Blue Knot Foundation developed this series of fact sheets for members of the general public, to equip them to have safe, supportive conversations with a friend, a family member, and/or a colleague who is suspected or known to have experiences of trauma. It provides information and tools for lay people to have trauma-informed conversations; as well as guidelines for supporting a person who is disclosing child sexual abuse as an adult.

Members of the general public are becoming more aware of the prevalence of trauma and how it can affect people. However, many people feel poorly equipped to have everyday conversations with people they know or suspect have actually experienced trauma.

Talking about trauma: guide to everyday conversations for the general public provides a simple guide, in plain English, to support these critical conversations. Whether you are starting the conversation yourself (because you suspect a person is experiencing/has experienced trauma) or you are responding to a person telling you about their trauma. The following information, evidence and tips will help you manage the challenges and minimise the risks.

Breaking Free is a monthly newsletter with articles, stories, resources and news for adult survivors, those who support them and community members.

The oft-replicated Centre for Disease Control and Prevention's Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Study is one of the largest investigations of childhood abuse and neglect, and its impact on later-life health and well-being.

The study proved that adverse childhood experiences have a dose-response relationship with many physical-health problems; and a strong, graded relationship to numerous health, social, and behavioural problems throughout the entire lifespan. These were not usually thought of as related to childhood abuse or neglect, and included problems such as heart disease, cancer, chronic pain, emphysema, diabetes, chronic lung disease, sexual health problems, sexually transmitted infections, depression, eating disorders, major dental problems, self-mutilation, learning disorders, alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, teenage pregnancies, homelessness, suicide, and more.

The details and results of the study can be found here (and you can find out what your ACE score is, on the Survivor page of this website).