A NEW specialist counselling service will offer help to adult survivors of child abuse in Kennet, North and West Wiltshire.
Kennet and North and West Wiltshire's primary care trusts and Wiltshire County Council have joined forces to support the service, to be provided by Revival Support Services.
The need for a specialist service was identified when Revival, a local voluntary service for survivors of abuse, was set to close as a result of losing National Lottery funding.
Wiltshire's joint commissioning manager for mental health, Shareen Campbell, said: "A significant number of people using mental health services are known to develop stress or depression after being traumatised by sexual abuse in childhood.
"Specialist services have been shown to help individuals manage or overcome their mental distress and bring about improvements in physical and general health and well-being.
"This new service will work closely with NHS mental health services to complement the counselling services already available through GP surgeries and voluntary agencies."
The two PCTs will invest £12,000.
The county council will also be providing £18,000 in funding for the new service.
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