Accessing Counseling on Your Own Terms

In this episode, we talk about attending to the impacts of trauma and exploring accessing a counsellor with Farzana Doctor. You get to determine how you want to heal. One of the tools that you can access is counselling. It can help you understand the impacts of harm, build an understanding of what trauma is and explore tools for care. Counselling can sometimes sound like a magic bullet however it is one tool of many. This episode reminds us of the importance of finding a counsellor that is a good fit for you and be prepared to do the work in counselling.

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CONTENT NOTE:

There are no descriptions of sexual violence in this podcast series. In this episode, there is a discussion of healing from female genital mutilation. This can bring up big feelings and be hard to hear. Listen in a way that feels safer for you. You get to choose.

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NEED SUPPORT?

You are not alone if you have been affected by sexual violence or other forms of gender-based violence. There are resources such as sexual assault support centres in your community that you can reach out to.

If you are a Toronto Metropolitan University community member, please connect with Consent Comes First, the Office of Sexual Violence Support and Education: www.torontomu.ca/sexual-violence/

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KEEP CONNECTED TO HEALING COMES IN WAVES

Download our Healing Comes in Waves workbook for this episode. It includes articles, resources and activities to explore attending to the impacts of trauma: www.healingcomesinwaves.ca

Follow us on Instagram: @healingcomesinwavespodcast

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MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST

Farzana Doctor is a Tkaronto-based author, activist and Registered Social Worker Psychotherapist. She has published four critically acclaimed novels, including Seven, which Ms. Magazine described as “fully feminist and ambitiously bold,” and was shortlisted for the Trillium and Evergreen Awards. Her new poetry collection, You Still Look The Same, which Quill & Quire has called “a powerful and necessary collection that breaks silences,” was just released in May 2022.

In her private practice, she works with individuals and couples and provides clinical consultation to other therapists. A founding member of WeSpeakOut and the End FGM Canada Network, she is also the Maasi behind Dear Maasi, a new sex and relationships column for FGM/C survivors: www.Linktr.ee/farzanadoctor

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CREDITS:

Created by Consent Comes First, the Office of Sexual Violence Support Education at Toronto Metropolitan University in Collaboration with the Consent Action Team. Podcast produced by Vocal Fry Studios. Graphic Design by Isabel Jordan.