Hannah Nicolaci (she/hers)

I began my work at Peace Over Violence, a non profit organization that offered free services including therapy, crisis intervention, legal services, and more to survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. My training there educated me on the legal aspects of both, and how to best emotionally support populations who are hoping to escape, have escaped, or have long been out of abusive dynamics.

For too long it was believed that PTSD was a final, inescapable red stamp diagnosis. over the last couple decades, researchers has indicated the opposite, and that our brains are capable of overcoming detrimental habits, and adopting new, more constructive and loving ones.

Many cultures have a tendency to push issues of sexual abuse under the rug, which only adds to the pain that assault already causes. Subduing or quieting yourself in regards to what you've experienced allows shame, anger, sadness, and feelings of rejection to compound. I strive to give survivors space to vocalize what they've gone through, what they needed then, what they need now, while guiding them through giving themselves compassion, for something that the world too easily shuns.

To partake in trauma informed therapy does not mean you have had to go through something you would categorize as traumatic. I find that interventions and tools in trauma informed therapy center around reframing, compassion, and a reconnection to oneself, which any individual can benefit from.