Our team at the Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre are always happy to answer any questions you may have about the Centre.
However, we’ve answered some of our most common questions below.
Do not hesitate to contact us on 4243 9800 or email us to find out more.
The Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre is a place for women to heal and rebuild their lives if they have or are experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence.
Our range of services supports women in living secure and independent lives.
Our Centre offers a variety of free healing, practical and connected support services under one roof at our unique and specialised women-only space in Shellharbour.
Can I attend the Centre if I am worried about my safety and I am in immediate danger?
The Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre is not a crisis service.
If you need urgent assistance, please call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or the Police on 000.
You can self-refer (by calling us or dropping into the Centre), or a GP, health provider or other community support provider can refer you if you are or have experienced domestic, family and sexual violence.
Please get in touch with us for a confidential conversation about your needs.
Once you contact us, our Intake Officer will call you.
Please allow 45 minutes for this conversation and make sure you have a safe, quiet space.
If we see that our Centre can offer you the support you need, we can arrange for you to book an appointment with our team.
The Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre is a service for women who have experienced or are experiencing domestic, family and/or sexual violence and are ready to start healing and recovery therapies.
To be eligible you must:
If you meet this criteria you will also have an appointment on the phone with our Intake Officer.
Please allow 45 minutes for this conversation and make sure you have a safe, quiet space. The Intake Officer will assess if the Centre can offer you the support you need.
If you are unsure if you are eligible, please call us, and our experienced team can discuss this further with you.
The supports offered at the Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre do not necessarily work for every woman. At certain times, unpacking past trauma can make things worse for people, so it is important that we gather some information to protect you, and ensure your best chance of success in treatment.
The intake appointment may be held over the phone or in person and takes approximately 45 minutes.
We recommend you are in a safe and quiet space for this conversation.
During your intake appointment, the intake officer will listen to your experiences and will ask you questions about your health, life story and your healing goals.
You do not have to share details of your trauma with the Intake Officer. In fact, we will advise you not to do this, as sharing this information with someone you do not know or trust yet can be very triggering for survivors, we also understand that telling your story over and over again is painful and not necessary to give good care.
Once the interview is complete, the goals will be to identify how we can best help you, and if safe to do so, create a support plan directing you to aspects of the service that will benefit you.
If the assessment reveals that it is not the right time to commence trauma therapy, we will provide you with detailed advice, generally in a letter format, of what you should do in the interim.
The goal of our service is to offer you the best chance of a successful and sustained recovery journey.
The intake officer will contact you within a week.
The waitlist for each service or group may differ, but we will give you an indication of what it is when we talk to you.
We are open between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
We are closed on weekends. But you can email us out of hours.
All our services are free of charge.
Our specialist workers are available to provide practical help and support to women who are experiencing or have previously experienced domestic, family and/or sexual violence and are ready to heal and recover from the violence and abuse.
Our service works with women to identify and meet their individual needs and goals.
Services include trauma and violence-informed counselling, practical support or casework, legal advice, financial counselling, employment guidance and Centrelink advice.
We provide a range of free healing therapies tailored to your specific needs in a safe, supportive and empowering environment in the Centre.
Our list of therapies and groups will continue to grow as we build new partnerships. They currently include massage therapy, a self-care group, a self-compassion workshop, a movement for mental health group, and social connection groups such as our music group and walking group.
While our services are for women over the age of 18, children are able to accompany mothers or carers to the Centre.
If you have children, you may wish to attend appointments in our specially designed room, which has a view into our safe playroom to allow you to keep an eye on your little ones.
We do suggest, however, that you get care for your children if you are able – that simply allows you to focus fully on yourself whilst at the Centre.
Yes. The Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre is a safe place for women to heal and rebuild their lives after experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence.
All services are private and confidential.
All our services, groups and workshops are available to women who are eligible to access the Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre.
For therapeutic groups designed by our mental health practitioners, you will need to talk to our Intake Officer to see if they will work for you.
For our social connection groups and activities, we encourage women to give each group a go to find out what works for them.
To be eligible you must:
If you need urgent assistance, please call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or the Police on 000.
Otherwise, please take a look at the Resources page on our website, where we list a number of agencies and services that can help outside of business hours.
We’re unable to provide safe accommodation on-site but we may be able to recommend an appropriate service for you.
Our Resources page also lists a number of services that will be able to help.
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The Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre is situated on the land of the Dharawal Nation. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and we pay our respects to Elders past and present for they hold the memories, traditions and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. This land is, was, and always will be traditional Aboriginal land. We acknowledge that we work in the context of generations of resilient, strengths-based, holistic resistance to violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We commit to actively supporting and promoting the voices of Aboriginal people and organisations in our work. We fully support the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
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