Susan Bradborn: Art & Trauma Therapist

My name is Susan Bradborn and I’m a creative arts therapist and trauma therapist.

I’ve worked for nearly a quarter of a century with victim/survivors of sexual violence and ritualistic abuse and I’m often asked why.  Why do I choose to be present to such horror stories. I must confess that I’m often a little perplexed myself, but then I am afforded such moments when it has been my humbling privilege to be part of the Healing and Hope Mothers’ Retreats.

As an art therapist I often begin any exploration or reflection with a visual representation. This allows for a nuanced depth of understanding from which meaning or language can emerge.

When I was invited to say a few words that reflected the value and importance of the role of Healing and Hope I felt incredibly stuck. I painted and tried to find words, but what continued to rise to the surface was that trying to find words to adequately describe this was a losing battle.  

What I came to understand was that it is in the “felt” sense, how the body responds to being in the presence of the hurt, the pain, the courage and the vulnerability where the value is understood. Healing and Hope invites this experiencing without the need for appropriate language, it offers a space for honesty, reflection and raw emotion without judgment.

Those who have been so impacted by the history of ritualistic sexual violence need a resting place, need a safe place. Healing and Hope is that space and it has grown out of the tenacity of not letting go of that understanding.

In my art making I noticed that there was much colour and aspects of experiencing at Geelong Grammar School that felt good and fluid but there was a darkness within. This seemed to stay invisible for the most part, but almost presented as a cancer that infests the whole unless it is recognised and treated.

What Healing and Hope has done is it to give voice to this darkness - to give a space to expose the hurt, the pain and the shame and to find a way to invite growth from the horrors.

The healing is not just for the victim/survivors it is also for the families, it is for their supports, but I think upon reflection it is for the whole school. Healing and Hope invites this, it invites the whole school to come together to heal.