Net Radio Lets Victims Speak Out
Posted Courtesy of The Post and Courier (http://www.charleston.net)
Published on 12/12/04
BY PRENTISS FINDLAY
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Kathleen Brooks was sexually molested while a graduate psychology student. She didn't tell anyone because she was afraid of reprisal. Now, she hosts a new hourlong Internet radio show for Charleston's Darkness to Light that offers talk and guidance for sex abuse victims.
"I kept attracting unwanted, unwarranted sexual attention in inappropriate situations. For example, when I worked on my doctorate in psychology I had two professors who had sex with me while they were supposedly doing therapy with me," she said.
She wondered, "Why am I attracting this terrible stuff? I never spoke about the situation in graduate school because I was afraid nobody would believe me and they would kick me out of school. It's such a taboo subject."
The taboo of discussing sexual abuse is at the heart of Brooks' new Internet radio program, which airs at 5 p.m. Wednesdays. She is a psychologist in private practice in San Diego. For the past two years, she hosted an Internet radio talk show, "Ethics — from Bedroom to Boardroom," at World Talk Radio.
Her new program, "Darkness to Light: Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence," can be heard by logging on to darkness2light.org and clicking on the link for the program. Or a listener can go directly to worldtalkradio.com to hear the show.
Listeners can call the program toll-free at (888) 514-2100. Past shows are archived.
In therapy after her grad school sex abuse, Brooks recalled and explored her repressed memories of being sexually abused as a child.
"I was one of those people. If you're in a safe enough space, and you have enough ego development to handle it, what will happen is you will have a spontaneous memory or dream which will make you go, 'What the heck was that about?' There is usually something, an event in your life, that opens the door for you," she said.
Brooks said she met Darkness to Light President and CEO Anne Lee while interviewing her for "Ethics — from Bedroom to Boardroom." Brooks' daughter-in-law, a sexual abuse survivor, told her about Darkness to Light and said Brooks should interview Lee. "We really enjoyed each other," Brooks said of her interview with Lee.
Later, Lee contacted Brooks and asked if she would be interested in doing an Internet radio show on sexual abuse.
"And I said, of course, because it's a topic that's near and dear to my heart," she said.
Brooks recently visited Charleston for training at Darkness to Light for firsthand knowledge of the organization's mission to prevent child sex abuse.
Her show is done at a studio in San Diego. She said her show will not offer on-the-air, problem-solving advice. Instead, it will refer callers to Darkness to Light for further guidance and help.
"I will provide intelligent listening and, shall we say, appropriate guidance. I'm going to say this is a matter that requires serious professional help from a competent person. I'm not going to be giving advice like Laura Schlessinger," she said.
Lee said of the new show, "We think it will be a really informative venue for people to get educated."
She said the show is part of a new Darkness to Light effort to develop virtual communities. "This is an interactive way for people to participate. This is the first step for us in creating that virtual community online."
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