Category: Uncategorized

A Survivor Perspective By: Danielle Sullivan, Sexual Assault Survivor One of the many things I’ve learned looking back at my time as a client of the Victim Service Center of Central Florida, is that in reality, its name is a misnomer. Yes, they serve victims in Central Florida – they do so much more than… Continue reading A Survivor Perspective

Sexual Assault Awareness Month Highlights By: Lui Damiani, Executive Director April, which is globally recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, was a very special month at the Victim Service Center of Central Florida! The month kicked off with City of Orlando Mayor, Buddy Dyer, and Orange County Mayor, Teresa Jacobs, reading separate proclamations for the… Continue reading SAAM Highlights!

Helping Hand: What you can do for the Survivor in Your Life By: Meghan Hahl, VSC Therapy Intern For many of us, it is difficult to imagine being a victim in a sexual assault crime. We may associate sexual assault with fictional horror stories that we see on television, or the headline that we skim over… Continue reading Helping Hand: What you can do for the Survivor in Your Life

Victim Service Center of Central Florida has announced the largest awareness campaign in our fifteen year history! We will have billboards all over Orange and Osceola Counties during 2015 to ensure that people know where to go to get help when an assault occurs and how bystanders can take action to help prevent sexual violence… Continue reading See Us Around Town!

Grieving Sexual Assault: Applying Grief to the Trauma of Rape By: Meghan Hahl, Therapy Intern When someone says the word “rape,” or discusses the idea of sexual assault, one rarely thinks to associate the traumatic incident with the concept of grief. When survivors consider their pain and the trauma they have experienced, the idea of going… Continue reading Grieving Sexual Assault

5 Benefits of Mindfulness By: Gina Skopec, Therapy Intern Mindfulness is a state of being in which one has moment-to-moment awareness of his or her experience and surroundings without passing judgment (Davis & Hayes, 2012). The concept of mindfulness has been gaining popularity in the fields of counseling and psychology over recent years as a practice that… Continue reading 5 Benefits of Mindfulness

When a Loved One is a Survivor of Sexual Trauma By: Theresa Zephirin, LCSW | Therapist “The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief, who can tolerate not knowing, not healing, not curing, that is a friend who cares”… Continue reading When a Loved One is a Survivor of Sexual Trauma

Vulnerability: How Letting Go of Control Can Empower Our Clients By: Holly Smith, LMHC | Senior Therapist/Clinical Coordinator Vulnerability has become quite a buzz word lately, but what does it actually mean?  It has evolved from a measure of weakness to a mark of openness and connection in our relationships.  Its historical definition doesn’t fit… Continue reading Vulnerability

  How to Manage Triggers in World that is Waking Up By: Holly Smith, LMHC | Senior Therapist/Clinical Coordinator We have seen a recent skyrocket of awareness in the media regarding sexual assaults and sexual abuse.  We are truly in a chapter of our history where we are waking up to the reality of how… Continue reading How to Manage Triggers in World that is Waking Up

              What Does Healing Look Like? By: Holly Smith, MS, LMHC | Therapist We use the word “healing” frequently to discuss physical injuries.  Once a cut, scrape, or break is “healed,” we know how to recognize it. The skin has developed scar tissue or the broken bone is strong enough… Continue reading What Does Healing Look Like?