Some people come to counselling knowing exactly what they want to talk about.

Others don't.

You may have spent decades not talking about something. You may not know where to begin. You might not even be sure whether what happened to you “counts” as trauma.

That's okay.

The starting point does not have to be telling your entire story.

It can simply be noticing what is happening in your life now and becoming curious about where those patterns, feelings or responses may have come from.

For someone who has survived by getting on with life, asking for help can feel unfamiliar. It can also be the beginning of understanding that survival and healing are not quite the same thing.