A young working adult in the workforce, Kate decided to seek counselling to overcome her past trauma. As it turns out, Kate had experienced sexual abuse in her teenage years, silently suffering the brunt of the trauma for over a decade. The perpetrator – her female cousin, who was 10 to 12 years older than her. Kate had been coping by tolerating the mixed emotions she feels from the trauma, along with rationalisation and covering herself up as a form of protection. 

Through counselling, Kate learned that the underlying emotions attached to the past traumatic incident comprised largely of disappointment, as she didn’t feel supported by her father when the abuse occurred. Whenever she argued with her dad, she was triggered into remembering her past trauma of being sexually harassed.  

Her counsellor has noticed that Kate has gained the ability to manage the trauma instead of being overwhelmed by it.  Through acknowledging and accepting the incident, Kate can deal with her emotions better as she moves past the incident, with a more positive outlook towards the future.