At the beginning of the decade I attended a service that specialised in helping people who were victims of sexual assault. I went there for many years telling the therapist of flashbacks I started having related to childhood sexual abuse.

Oneday I rang this therapist for support and told him I'm still having flashbacks, he replied by saying, 'you're creating memories!'

I felt shocked and totally invalidated, more so since I had confided in him about very detailed sexual-related flashbacks. Later I saw his colleague who questioned the validity of my flashbacks and often looked at me with a critical/doubtful facial expression when I told her my truth about my childhood.

I left that service re-traumatised and will never go back there again. Totally disgusted because these are the last people you would expect NOT to believe a survivor's story!

PH