Support and Self Help centre for Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse - it's never too late to get support

For opening times, see diary, for our address see top left.

HEAL offers a non-judgemental and confidential support and self-help centre for adult survivors of childhood abuse. HEAL was founded in 1997 by a survivor who couldn't find the support she needed after her own counselling had finished. HEAL became a registered charity in June 2000 and we opened our own Centre in January 2002. We offer a variety of services including workshops, support groups, social meetings, creativity workshops (see creativity page)and discussion groups. We also offer a support group for the partners and carers of abuse survivors (see diary). Due to our limited resources, we can only offer on-going support to people who can attend our Centre in Colchester. HEAL does not offer a telephone helpline, but please click on our other help page for details of other organisations that could help you in this way. We are independently funded, and welcome donations. See our fundraising and supporters pages for details of our latest activities.

“HEAL is such a lifeline to me. It means so much to be able to be among others who have suffered the same sort of trauma. Before I came to HEAL I felt so alone and isolated and found it very difficult to get the support I so badly needed. I find the closed meetings very helpful, not just the support group but the topics of discussion which are particularly relevant to me. Coming to HEAL is helping me to develop and to cope better with life and my aim is to recover enough so that I can become a volunteer myself so I can continue to help and support others ” (HEAL Member)