A MUM-OF-THREE who was physically abused as a child has vowed to help other people suffering in silence.

Gemma Ellison, from Latchford, has set up a support group to help adults over the age of 18 who have experienced a trauma during their lifetime.

The 25-year-old, who is in her final year of a counselling degree, launched Light Bulb Trauma Support Group last week and she has already been inundated with messages from victims in need of support.

She said: “I have experience with trauma. I was abused as a child.

“I have spoken out about it now but at the time nobody knew about what I had been through.

“Over the years I have had a lot of struggles with mental health.

“When I went to university I went through other traumas which kept adding up.

“I just felt like there was not enough support out there.

“There is therapy like I had but in the cold light of day once you have done that there is nothing. You are on your own.”

The support group will provide members with a platform to talk about their experiences and access advice and information from Gemma as well as her wife and trainee psychologist Laura Ellison.

“You can’t just move forward with trauma,” added Gemma.

“You don’t just wake up one day and think you are over it. You can start to stitch yourself back together.

“I’m hoping the group will help to heal people and their scars and make things a little bit easier.

“People can keep it bottled up like a big secret and then they are left with a load of rubbish.

“I have actually had a lot of older people come through the group.

“They have kept this inside for 30 years and it upsets me that these people have slipped through the net.”

The sessions will be held at St Margaret’s Community Centre on Lindley Avenue in Latchford on the third Wednesday of the month from 6.30pm to 8pm, starting in November.

n For more information visit facebook.com/lightbulbtrauma.