Lene Frisch Larsen, a child therapist, said children are given a room where they can talk about the violence they have experienced, adding: "The children don't have answers to their questions and why the violence has happened."
"And also, what's normal?" added Mary. “Because for them violence is normal.The children need to speak about what they have been through."
Kate said: "When it comes to building these relationships, is it based on trauma-informed best practice, for children specifically? What sort of programme is it?"
"We use different tools," explained Lene. "When the woman and her child comes here the first conversation will be with the mother alone, with me and a colleague, a social worker."
She said the first meeting with the child was with the mother too, "to help mums explain why they are here," adding: "The child will find out that it's ok to talk about it, it's not a secret anymore."
Mary explained: "We don't want to take away the power of being a mother, by saying 'I know this because your mother has told me', and it's together with the mother that we have the first conversation, so she's the support for the child always."
Kate asked: "The variety of ages of the children you work with, the way you talk about their experiences must vary in order to help them explain the situation.
"What helps most with healing for both the children and women who come here? Is it having a safe space, is it someone trusting to talk to? Or everything? A combination?"
Lene agreed, adding: "If you’re not safe, you're not able to talk about having a future."