Women of the Year: Therapist adds free self-defense training into sexual assault recovery

Christine DiBlasio is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. The program launched in 2022 as a continuation of Women of the Century, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Meet this year’s honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.

For sexual assault survivors, trauma can manifest in the body as well as the mind. Clinical psychologist Christine DiBlasio had been treating trauma recovery patients for nearly 30 years with traditional talk therapy when it occurred to her she may be able to promote more healing through movement.

A fifth-degree black belt, DiBlasio merged her clinical background with her martial arts and self-defense training to create a free program for sexual assault survivors that uses talk therapy to understand trauma and triggers, as well as movement and self-defense each session.

Participants say the results have been transformational. The therapeutic sexual violence recovery program is the only one of its kind. People have inquired about what DiBlasio and her colleagues are doing in South Burlington, Vermont from as far away as Australia.

Around 50% of U.S. women experience some form of sexual violence during their lifetime, DiBlasio said. The program consistently has a waiting list for participants.

Grant funding allows the program to be provided free of charge to sexual assault survivors, and it has served hundreds of Vermont women in the four years since its inception. DiBlasio hopes she and The Safety Team — a group she co-founded that provides self-defense training as well this therapeutic program for survivors — can expand the program and reach new populations in the future. For these reasons, Christine DiBlasio has been named the USA TODAY’s Women of the Year honoree from Vermont.

The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Who paved the way for you?

People publicly speaking about sexual assault, publicly speaking about violence against women, speaking about violence in general — that has helped bring awareness to this important problem.

But, I also want to give a shout out to those people who have more privately shared their stories with people to bring awareness to people and their families, to their friends, to their community.

And, I have to also acknowledge those people who have not had an opportunity to share their story because it’s not safe yet, because they’re not able to do that. And, that is part of what has inspired us to do this work, too.

People who walk alongside me in doing this work are the people on the Safety Team — the women on the Safety Team who devote endless amounts of energy, passion, time, resources, creativity to this important mission.

People who have gone through our program. People who have worked hard in their own healing with us. They stand alongside and keep us motivated.

It’s a really long list.

What is your proudest moment? Do you have a lowest?

Proud moments are when people show up to do the hard work, whether it is in my office or for the trauma recovery program. They show up knowing that this will be hard work. I watch them go through the program and then walk out feeling differently, having really moved forward in their recovery. That makes me proud every single time.

When people go through our community workshops or the trauma recovery program and then want to volunteer for our organization, and I see them really come into their own and help other people, that makes me pretty proud.

When I see instructors on the Safety Team take the material and make it better and share it with all the people who come to our trainings, I feel like a proud parent.

Of course, there are tough moments, too. The last (three) years have been tough for all of us. One of the things I find difficult is the limitations. We hold a waitlist. I know that there are people that would benefit from this program that I have to say "not now," "I hope soon, but not yet." That’s tough.

What is your definition of courage?

I think of courage as acting in the face of fear for something that matters, for something that’s important. I think there are so many different ways to show courage — from speaking up when something’s not right, to stepping back to let someone else speak, for showing up to do hard work like coming to our trainings. Here we are working on sexual assault and people show up. Being willing to learn and listen to other people and stepping back and acknowledging there are things I can do better.

Is there a guiding principle or mantra that you tell yourself?

You can’t always stop the bad, but you can always add to the good. That kept me going through a lot of the last few years.

Who did you or do you look up to?

This is where I always have to make a joke. Which is: I’m 5-foot-1 with big hair. I look up to everyone.

I have to start with my daughters. They’re young adults. They keep me honest, they keep me growing, they hold me accountable and I am so proud of the young women that they are.

I look up to my teammates on the Safety Team who continue to revise our program and make it better every day. They’re inspirational to me.

I look up to the people who go through our program. Because, as I mentioned earlier, the courage it takes to work on trauma is nothing to be taken lightly.

How do you overcome adversity?

I’d like to think of perhaps not overcoming adversity but coping with adversity. So, what I do first is acknowledge this is hard. And maybe I wasn’t expecting it, or maybe I was, but this is hard. I allow myself to have whatever feelings of discouragement or frustration I might have. Then I regroup and find supportive people to help me. I figure out how to go around it or go through it.

Sometimes it’s just a speed bump and you go over it slowly. Or, it’s a detour and you figure out a way around it. And you persist. I have to say that some of those detours have brought me to the best places in my life. That they’ve turned out to be — and at the time I thought that they were awful, and they were — but they turned out later to be pivotal in changing the direction, changing my focus, changing me.

What advice would you give your younger self?

You didn’t know my younger self. She was a little stubborn.

I would give her the same advice I give myself now. Which is: persist, keep trying — keep trying to do good, be curious, learn, listen, learn, listen more. Figure out what’s important to you. Determine what your values are, and live your life according to those values. Find people who share your passion and your values. Support other people, they’ll support you, too.

Oh, and have fun! You gotta have fun. Life is hard. Have fun, too. Seriously, it’s important.

• 2022 Women of the Year: Women of the Year: Retired police captain advocates for more women in law enforcement

• Women of the Century: 19th Amendment centennial: Award-winning author Julia Alvarez among Vermont’s influential women

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont sexual assault recovery therapist honored by USA TODAY