Member Article

Penny Parks Foundation CIC receives record donation

A community interest company that helps people who’ve experienced sexual abuse has received its biggest donation so far from a couple whose lives have been transformed.

The Penny Parks Foundation CIC based in Suffolk, UK, offers a unique approach to personal therapy, allowing victims to resolve their feelings about their experiences rather than just learning to live with them.

The Foundation’s approach is called PICT – Parks Inner Child Therapy – and is based on methods Penny Parks developed to deal with her own abuse. Penny was sexually abused by six men between the ages of two and 12. Her search for recovery began in her 20s, when she realised the difficulties she had in her life stemmed from her experiences as a child.

“Abuse hadn’t become recognised in the ’60s so I had to start with self-help books and find my own path,” she says.

PICT is a flexible and gentle visualisation therapy that addresses the effects of the trauma rather than focusing on the detail of an event. Clients can therefore retain their privacy and dignity and achieve lasting change.

Originally from California, Penny has been offering PICT in the UK since 1985. Since then she has seen more than 850 clients and many more have been helped by practitioners who have trained in the therapy.

The £30,000 donation was made by the partner of M. who Penny describes as “one of the most emotionally scarred people I’ve worked with.”

“This young woman lives in the Middle East where there is little or no therapy available for people who’ve been sexually abused,” Penny says.

“She had lived with effects of this trauma for 40 years and she was in a very bad place when she came to me.

“We only had a limited number of days to work together but in that time, I saw a huge change in her. Before, she couldn’t interact with people. Her behaviour in social situations could be aggressive and unpredictable because she had no self-confidence or self-worth.

“But after working with her she was calm and in control of herself. She felt more comfortable with who she was and she could finally manage her life.”

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to finish the PICT process but I know we made significant progress.“

M’s partner was so overwhelmed with the impact of Penny’s work he made the donation to help the Foundation offer its unique model of therapy to more people.

Penny says, “I know that PICT works but it is wonderful to get such clear confirmation from clients and those around them who are also deeply affected by what their partner has been through.”

About the Penny Parks Foundation CIC

The Penny Parks Foundation is a community interest company. It provides rapid and gentle resolution of trauma and childhood abuse to the many victims worldwide through Parks Inner Child Therapy.

It also provides resources and promotes the PICT Trauma & Abuse Specialist Skills Diploma Training to individuals and organisations. www.ppfoundation.co.uk

About Penny Parks

Penny Parks, 72, is a psychotherapist who pioneered and developed the first stand-alone ‘inner child’ therapy model, designed to successfully resolve childhood abuse issues.

She is the author of two therapeutic books, ‘Rescuing the Inner Child’ (1990, Souvenir Press) and ‘The Counsellor’s Guide to Parks Inner Child Therapy (PICT)’ (1994, Souvenir Press). Both have remained in re-print.

With 30 years’ experience in the field, her expertise has been sought by charitable and statutory organisations including the NHS, Probation Services, MIND and Relate. She has an international client base and is sought after as a speaker on abuse issues.

She is a Fellow Member of both the National Counselling Society and the National Council of Psychotherapists and since 2012 has been a voluntary National Council of Psychotherapists Advisory Board member.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kids MBA .