by Christina Enevoldsen & Darlene Ouimet Abuse misinforms us about our identity and our value. Recovery is the restoration of our true selves. Find out how we uncover the truth in this ten minute audio discussion by Christina Enevoldsen and Darlene Ouimet. “I became my own advocate and I believe that’s the only way we [...]

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by Christina Enevoldsen I could never take a vacation for more than four days. I didn’t understand how people could be happy just “wasting time” or how they could prefer fun and games over tangible results. Hard work was my fun. It was frustrating when my son and daughter were young and I tried to [...]

By Christina Enevoldsen, Bethany Ruck & Penny Smith I live close to Beverly Hills, the plastic surgery Mecca, where the question is, “Are they real?” I’m also a few blocks from where the Academy Awards and many film premieres are held, where celebrities smile for the cameras and wave confidently to the fans, yet we [...]

by Christina Enevoldsen When I was a kid, The Wizard of OZ aired on television once a year. I didn’t know any families who didn’t anticipate this event. My family never missed it. We’d eat dinner early, make popcorn and enthusiastically settle in. The Wizard of Oz is an enchanting story of a twelve-year-old Kansas [...]

by Christina Enevoldsen It was the first time in weeks since my husband and I had been on a date. Don held my hand and I rested my head on his chest while we waited in line for the planetarium show at Griffith Observatory. The young couple a few feet in front of us caught [...]

by Christina Enevoldsen If a friend or family member tells you he or she was sexually abused, please consider the importance of your role in the healing process. Disbelief or disinterest from loved ones can intensify or prolong trauma from abuse. It is emotionally overwhelming when someone you love and trust doesn’t believe you or [...]

by Bethany Ruck I’m now being forced to look at my childhood for what it was, not the pretty picture I imagined it to be. For years I convinced myself that I had a good childhood, despite all the abuse I endured. Then I remembered that the good times were really just a cover for [...]

Do you think you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual abuse? Sexual abuse is one of the most traumatic events a person can experience. Victims of traumatic events commonly repress the memory of the event. Memory repression is a coping mechanism that allows the person to survive mentally, emotionally and physically. [...]

I feel like most of my life has been an effort to wake up from a nightmare.  I had a desperate need to escape to the light of day, to free myself from the strange dreamworld of an alternate reality. I don’t remember thinking about sexual abuse until I was about fourteen or fifteen.  I [...]

by Christina Enevoldsen Sexual abuse is one of the most traumatic events that can happen to a child.  The way their disclosure is handled can make a difference in whether the discloser is a continuation of their trauma or the first step in healing.  Though it is difficult to believe that someone could hurt a [...]