Hope from Hurt Specialist CSA Therapeutic Recovery Service .
Specialist support for children and families affected by child sexual abuse and exploitation in Northern Ireland and Donegal.
Meet Sinéad
Hi, thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about me, my work and why I am so passionate about providing therapeutic support for children, young people, and families affected by child sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as my dedication to delivering trauma informed training to professionals working with children and families, so that children are met with understanding, empathy and support, without the need to keep having to talk about their abuse over and over.
My career began over 32 years ago as a social worker, driven by a deep belief that every child deserves to be, and to feel, safe, heard, and able to achieve their potential in life. For the past 21 years, I have specialised in providing therapeutic support to children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse or exploitation, as well as their families and carers. I spent 17 years with the NSPCC in Derry, where I was able to develop my skills and understanding of trauma, specifically the traumatic impact of child sexual abuse and exploitation. In my time with NSPCC, I worked in the development and delivery of high-quality therapeutic services and support, both as a practitioner and as a manager. As a manager, I supported my team members in their own professional development in this work, and have also trained a number of other professionals in this work. I am very much aware that therapeutic services such as these are not always accessible to children and their families/carers, which is something I want to address in my work.
Since becoming Independent in late 2021, I have worked across Ireland, North and South providing trauma informed training to professionals and direct therapeutic support to children and their families/carers, enabling them to work through the traumatic impact of Child Sexual Abuse/ Exploitation. I take referrals from across Northern Ireland and Donegal, using local facilities including Trust and Tusla Offices in Northern Ireland, Inishowen, Letterkenny and Donegal Town to provide the service, and avoid the need for children to travel long distances for their therapeutic support.
I have always said that it is an absolute privilege to do this work, and it is. For children and their families/carers to put their faith and trust in me at one of the most difficult times in their lives is very humbling. I have learned so much from the children and families/carers I have worked with, and I carry a bit of them all with me throughout my work. I am blown away by the courage and resilience of the children and families/carers I work with. They are all amazing.
What Matters Most
Is that children and young people get the right support at the right time to enable them to work through their trauma. It is just as important that all of those professionals working with children: teachers, social workers, medics, community workers and counsellors etc are trauma informed, and understand CSA/E and the specific traumatic impact of this form of abuse.
Specialist Therapeutic Recovery Service
Hope from Hurt provides specialist therapeutic support for children and young people aged 4-25 who have experienced sexual abuse/exploitation, and their families. With over 21 years’ experience in this field I offer a safe, compassionate and highly skilled service grounded in a psychodynamic, trauma- informed approach. My work is evidence-based, drawing on established research, best practice guidelines and extensive clinical experience. I am a registered social worker and a member of professional organisations that ensure my practice remains current, ethical and informed by ongoing developments in the field.
Recovery is not about re-telling trauma. Children and young people will never be asked to recount their abuse. I build a strong, therapeutic relationship with the child and then focus on understanding the impact on them of their experiences and supporting them to work through this at their own pace. I give the child back choice because they had no choice over their abuse. It is the child’s choice to work with me, and they also choose what areas of their trauma we work on and when. That in itself is so powerful for them.
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Supporting children and young people to work through the traumatic impact of their abusive experiences, at their own pace, is crucial. That’s why it is their choice to work with me. It is essential that they feel in control of this work and that they are believed, supported, and understood.
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This service helps parents and caregivers after a child has disclosed sexual abuse. It helps families understand the impact of abuse and exploitation on their child, and on themselves. This understanding is crucial as they support their child in their recovery.
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Child Sexual Abuse can also affect siblings, who often struggle with complex feelings as a result. I support them in exploring their feelings and the issues that their sibling’s abuse has raised for them, in a confidential, therapeutic space.
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I provide consultancy to frontline professionals working with complex case involving child sexual abuse/exploitation.
I also provide court reports and parenting assessments in complex cases.
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Some young children can present with sexualised behaviours which may cause their family some distress. Parents /professionals don’t always know how to support these children, and may worry how they will be perceived. I work with the family and the child, supporting the family to understand the child’s behaviours, and enabling the child to understand these behaviours and address them when they become problematic.
For professionals, I offer remote training to understand and work with the children and their families in relation to these behaviours.
Training Programmes
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Craig I know that I’ve written up and added this before.
So the In the know needs to be removed from this section of the training, which is focused on the Remote CPD training programmes.
Then there’s the other training programmes which is the bespoke training and the In the Know.
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This training programme is for front line professionals who want to develop their skills and knowledge of the factors and nuances that there can be within families, and which can impact on the level of support afforded to the child.
Families can be complex and so this training aims to enable professionals to tune in to the family, and use their professional curiosity to elicit the information they need to inform their assessments and casework plans, and ultimately ensure that the child, as well as siblings and parents/carers, have the support they need at a very difficult time.
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Sinéad Hegarty Consultancy provides trauma-informed training for professionals working with children and families impacted by trauma, including child sexual abuse. Programs are available in Ireland for social workers, health and social care staff, schools, foster carers, community groups, and charities.
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I understand the pressure on today’s teens so I offer workshops to schools, youth and community groups to enable young people to understand healthy relationships and consent, as well as develop an awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
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I am an experienced, CPD Accredited trainer, offering a number of remote training programmes, each lasting two hours, and suitable for all professionals working with children and families affected by Child Sexual Abuse/Exploitation.
I also develop and deliver bespoke training for professionals, including voluntary and community groups, who are working with children and families affected by trauma, including that specific to child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Based in Northern Ireland, I am committed to child focused, therapeutic support for those who have experienced child sexual abuse, and to supporting professionals and community groups across Ireland, to become trauma informed and trauma responsive.
