Two-day workshop

Winning the battle of the abused brain

An empowering workshop designed by Sue Cox, co-founder of Survivors Voice – Europe, and her SMART-UK team of experienced specialist teachers, to spotlight the real severity of the effects of childhood abuse: how the brain, immune and metabolic systems are damaged, and life paths distorted.

Ask about the next workshop Download the flyer (PDF)

Our workshop is all about empowerment

Who it’s for

Therapists & health professionals
To understand the complexity of this biological damage, and how best to make a difference.
Lawyers & advocates
To recognise the long-term implications for their clients, and integrate the biology of trauma into their fight.
Families & friends
Who may be struggling to make sense of the situation and feel powerless to help.
Survivors themselves
Who need to be equipped with as much knowledge, armour and weaponry as they can muster in their fight back to wholeness.

Exploring the true nature of survivors of childhood clergy abuse

Imagine caring for a creature no one has ever seen before

Imagine you are faced with the care of a being from an entirely different species, an alien that has never been seen before, and is therefore extremely precious. You are charged with making it thrive and blossom in optimum health and wellbeing.

The answer would not be to throw just anything at it to see if it works, then try something else when that fails, and then something else. Yet this random approach is often what we see when people try to help survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Like throwing mud at a wall to see how much will stick.

The right thing to do would be to look very closely at the nature of that creature, and determine what it actually needs. Is it vegetarian? Nocturnal? Happier in a group, or does it need solitude? Does it need warmth or cold? What exactly does it require in order to survive and thrive?

As people who want to help, we tend to “throw” what we consider the best thing at it, out of kindness. We might sit it in the sunshine and give it the best fillet steak. Great, unless the creature happens to be a cold-blooded, nocturnal vegetarian that is allergic to UV rays! You might feel better, but the creature will suffer. It is very easy to kill someone with kindness.

Survivors are not clones; they are unique and irreplaceable individuals, and the way each one deals with their own trauma is determined by many factors, and should be their own choice.

— Sue Cox

In our two-day workshops we examine the true nature of the survivor, how they have been damaged and, more importantly, what interventions can really help, including why timing is crucial. We look specifically at the survivor’s brain, the target organ of trauma, at the research on damage to the immune and metabolic systems, and we share simple, inexpensive tips and tools that empower survivors, even when they are alone.

From victim to victor

Like a prize-fighter preparing for the fight

Survivors need, and deserve, their best shot at happiness: to be as well as possible to begin and sustain their fight. A prize-fighter needs the right diet, the right exercise and the right mindset for more power, more speed and more endurance.

If survivors are overwhelmed, they can lose their determination. Too often we see survivors severely weakened and re-abused, because they are too hurt, ill-informed, dismissed or badly advised, or unable to look after themselves as well as they might.

It is near impossible to win a fight this big if you show up at less than your very best. Our workshop is designed to empower that survivor: the prize-fighter.

The programme

Two days, from understanding to action

We combine physics, neuroscience, epigenetics, medicine and psychology with the poetry of Chinese theory and many years of teaching, study and practice, all fuelled with a passion for survival, empowerment and recovery, and translated into language that is accessible and understandable.

Day one

Understanding the damage

Before it’s possible to mend anything, it’s crucial to understand how it works in the first place.

The gross structure and workings of the brain: the most complex and powerful structure in the known universe, and the target organ of abuse.
A fresh look at the wonders of the brain, how our knowledge has evolved, and brain plasticity.
How what has long been called “psychological damage” has its roots in physical and lasting changes to the brain.
The current understanding, and misunderstanding, of the effects of abuse, and why trivialising them is further abuse.
Conditions associated with childhood sexual abuse: depression, anxiety, paranoia, psychosis, self-harm, addictions, Stockholm syndrome, guilt, shame, suicide and complex PTSD.
How triggers, nightmares and flashbacks work.
Research showing how the immune and metabolic systems are damaged, and how a survivor’s life expectancy can be shortened.
How epigenetic changes created by abuse can be passed on to future generations.

Day two

Tools for recovery

Each individual survivor is the primary focus. Personal recovery has to be the starting point, and optimum brain health is crucial for everyone.

Which parts of the brain we need to “talk to”, and which we need to “shut up”.
Building the bridge between how someone feels and the biological reasons for those emotions.
Which therapies are great, which are not so great, and how to tell the difference.
Why timing matters: the same therapy can help at the right time and do nothing at the wrong one.
Why a “this will do” attitude is dismissive, and “better than nothing” is offensive.
Simple, effective self-help tools: diet, nutrition, exercise, breathing and meditation.
An introduction to the “Five Star” recovery programme: from victim to victor, from surviving to thriving.

Your teachers

A multidisciplinary team

Sue Cox OBE, Lic.Ac., M.A.A.C.

Counsellor, acupuncturist and educator, Founder and Director of SMART-UK and co-founder of Survivors Voice – Europe. Sue has personally trained more than 31,000 healthcare professionals, has given evidence to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee Against Torture, and has spoken in the Italian and Polish parliaments.

She is a survivor of Catholic clergy abuse, has more than fifty years of lived experience in addiction recovery, and is passionate about restoration. Read Sue’s story →

Dr Kim Wager PhD, MSc, Lic.Ac., M.B.Ac.C., R.C.H.M.

Neuroscience, pharmacology and molecular neuroscience. Kim is a consultant for SMART-UK, university lecturer, researcher and medical communications advisor. His research in neuroscience keeps SMART-UK’s training at the forefront of understanding about the brain and the effects of addiction, trauma and mental health.

He also specialises in genetics and lysosomal storage diseases, was part of a research team studying molecular neurodegeneration in conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, and is a published author in neuroscience.

“Five Star” recovery

A gift to my fellow survivors

“This Five Star recovery plan is a gift from me to all my fellow survivors. In my work and in my study I have learned from so many people, and I have tried to pass some of that on to you.

I believe the best way to deal with bad things is to transform them in some way, to make them fertiliser for growth. The more manure there is, the more beautiful the roses! And always putting the survivor first.

The worst and cruellest legacy for me has been the sense of unworthiness: the feeling of being isolated, inconsequential, sacrificial. Science, however, has given me a more precious gift, a powerful antidote. The knowledge that each of us is a unique and irreplaceable part of the universe. There has never been anyone like you before, and there never will be again, and what happens to you matters.

I am made of stardust!

You deserve the very best: the best recovery, the best lawyers, the best therapists, the best consideration, the best help. You have survived the worst betrayal of body and trust, and you deserve truly holistic, five star treatment.”

— Sue

Cost & bursaries

£250 for the two-day workshop

If you are a therapist, lawyer or similar, the workshop will give you CPD points as well as new skills to enhance your practice and help this client group.

We understand this may be cost-prohibitive for some people, so generous bursaries are available. Whether you’re a cash-strapped student, a survivor, or the family member of a survivor who feels (as we do) that this information is crucial, please talk to us. We are committed to not making a profit from fellow survivors, but we do need to cover our expenses.

Talk to us Download the flyer (PDF)