Children’s Inn is well-known in the region as a domestic violence shelter. However, shelter is only one of the services Children’s Inn provides.

Counseling can be an essential part of the healing process for people who have experienced domestic violence. Children’s Inn offers individual and group counseling for adults and children as young as three years old. Counseling is available for individuals staying in shelter, as well as those from the community.

Children’s Inns’ two therapists, Alicen Hauck and Jody Bockorny, provide services to adults and children, both in person and via telehealth.

Who uses counseling services?

“Each year, the therapists at Children’s Inn provide hundreds of counseling sessions to victims of abuse in our community,” says Children’s Inn Program Director Amy Carter.

Both current shelter clients and individuals from the community use the counseling services. People in shelter can take advantage of counseling services, if they choose, during their stay. Those in the community qualify for free counseling services at Children’s Inn if they have endured or witnessed domestic abuse, sexual assault or child abuse, either currently or in the past.

“Some come to Children’s Inn seeking counseling because they have experienced abuse in the past and want help processing how it has affected their current relationships, sense of self, and/or mental health,” says Jody.

“We also provide counseling services for children ages three and up; play-based therapy is offered for children ages three through 12,” Alicen says.

How counseling helps

“Common themes adults work on in counseling, due to the abuse and trauma, include low self-esteem, symptoms of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and grief and loss,” says Jody.

“Adults also seek support to learn healthy coping skills, how to enforce healthy boundaries, and to increase awareness of abusive mentality and behaviors,” she says.

Children in counseling typically work on identifying and communicating their feelings and experiences. “They learn to develop and build coping skills, self-esteem, social skills and healthy relationships,” says Jody.

Alicen adds, “Children engaged in play-based counseling will also begin to process feelings of guilt and shame that can often follow experiences of abuse or neglect.”

Support groups ongoing

Children’s Inn also offers:

• Women’s Support Group, for women who have experienced emotional, sexual and/or physical violence in their relationships

• Men’s Support Group for men who have endured abuse in their relationships

• LGBTQ Support Group for victims and survivors of domestic violence in the LGBTQ community

• Families Forward, which provides co-occurring groups for children and their mothers who have experienced domestic or family violence within the past two years.

Both therapists hope that counseling at Children’s Inn helps people safely get out of abusive relationships through developing a safety plan of action, understanding the cycle of abuse, and identifying power and control tactics.

Counseling may also help people gain a healthy sense of autonomy and empowerment to live free from abuse. It’s a valuable service and component of the healing journey that Children’s Inn clients experience.

All Children’s Inn counseling services are confidential and free of charge. For more information, contact Alicen or Jody at Children’s Inn.