The Sexual Abuse Help Site is the brain-child of Dr. Gudrun Frerichs. Gudrun has worked in the last twenty years with survivors of sexual abuse and has conducted a 2-year and a 5-year research to understand the pathways that lead to recovery from sexual abuse trauma. Over the years she has trained many counsellors and trainee counsellors in the principles of trauma therapy for sexually abused clients in public and private training institutions, and has presented papers about her work at numerous conferences. This includes a research paper at the Annual Conference of New Zealand Psychotherapists (2001) about the recovery from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), which has always been a special interest. She also holds a Diploma in Psychotherapy, a Certificate in Supervision, a Master Practitioner Certificate in Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP), and a Business Diploma.
“For my knowledge about how to assist the healing process, I am deeply indebted to all the survivors of sexual abuse I had the privilege to work with over the last 19 years. Their courage has touched my heart and the openness with which they have shared their journey and their inner worlds with me has left me with awe and deepest respect about children’s capacity to deal with and overcome the unspeakable. It is to all of them that I owe my understanding of survivors and of people in general, which helped me to work with deeper insight in my practice.”
Gudrun’s passion about the work with survivors of sexual abuse is not only fuelled by the deep respect she has for survivors, but also by her own experiences of sexual abuse. She is not just talking the talk but has also been walking the walk. Gudrun has a special soft spot for translating complex theories and concepts into language and metaphors that are understandable and make sense to even those people who have had no prior exposure to psychological and psychiatric terminology.
Dr. Frerichs has always been keen to understand people, to understand why they do what they do, and how they reveal their inner world through the way they communicate and connect with others. Her latest research interest involves the structure of happiness and follows the principles of positive psychology. She subscribes to the notion that looking in the rear mirror is important to make sure that no unpleasant surprises ‘catch up’ with you, but to arrive at a destination means to focus equally on the way ahead. People who spend their life watching the rear mirror will not be able to keep their vehicle on the road and their lives will be hazardous.
Gudrun has lived in Germany, Switzerland, Holland, and New Zealand. She has a good understanding about the diversity of people and appreciates the differences and likenesses they have to offer. She has three children and two grandchildren, who give her great joy and happiness. Over the years she has spent a lot of leisure time sailing, skying, playing tennis, and travelling. Lately reading and watching movies has taken precedence over the more physical activities. She lives now in New Zealand in a beach-side community near Auckland. She has dedicated herself to assisting others to grow strong and fulfil their potential and their dreams.
You’ll find more writings by Gudrun
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on her blog Multiple Voices that covers all aspects of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and the recovery from DID.
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on her blog Gudrun Frerichs, that addresses general topics of psychotherapy and personal growth.
