Crime Victim Counselling

No one ever expects to be the victim of a crime, and this element of surprise is one of the reasons that crimes can cause psychological damage to both the victim and their immediate family members. Anyone who experiences a crime, particularly a violent crime, should seek help from a trained counselling professional. The effects of being the victim of a crime on one’s psyche and emotional life should not be underestimated and should always be addressed.

Help is Available

Victims of crimes often report a sense that their world has shifted, that the very terra firma, on which they’ve depended unknowingly, has shaken loose from under them. Often, it can be difficult to trust again—to trust strangers and even neighbours, to trust that your own home and street are safe. It is normal to become fearful, but it is not a prison that anyone should have to live in for the rest of their life.

Counselling can help you recognize that your responses are part of a normal reaction to being the victim of a crime. A trained professional mental health provider can help you move beyond the initial and normal reactions of fear, anger, and loss, among many others, so that you can begin to heal and begin to return to normal.

Witnesses and Family Need Help Too

Witnessing a crime can be equally traumatic, and so can being in a close personal relationship with someone who has been impacted by a crime, particularly a violent crime. Witnesses and family often report feeling as overwhelmed and vulnerable as the primary person in a post-crime crisis. Witnesses and family members of the victim also need counselling in order to process and heal from their experience.

Free Help

Victims of crimes qualify for free counselling services under the crime victim assistance program. Don’t wait to search out help today if you’ve been impacted by a crime.