Kate Silverton says she has learned how to speak to her inner child after going through ‘years of therapy’ as she discusses the aftermath of sexual abuse

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Oh my gosh, Kate Silverton just shared the most incredible thing! She says she’s finally connected with her inner child – like, really talked to her! And it’s helped her heal from the awful abuse she experienced as a kid. She actually used the word ‘recovered,’ which is just… amazing. It’s like she’s found those lost parts of herself again, and I’m seriously so happy and inspired by her strength!

The 55-year-old former BBC News presenter playfully said she’s spent the equivalent of ‘200 years in therapy’ and now feels like she has multiple ‘versions’ of herself, almost like a close-knit family.

On the Radio 3 Unwind program, Music & Meditation, Kate explained that she feels like she has a small family living inside her.

When I feel scared or anxious, like before going on stage, I take a moment to find a quiet space and connect with my different emotions. I’ve learned to recognize them, so I can check in with how I’m truly feeling.

When I’m really anxious before a big event, I sometimes mentally revert to my teenage self. It’s like a confident version of me steps in and says, ‘I can handle this, Mom!’ and that reassurance lets me calm down and know everything will be okay.

Kate shared in 2024 that she had experienced sexual abuse and it took her fifty years to overcome the shame she felt because of it.

She has since become a child therapist after leaving her career in journalism.   

Kate now feels as though she can speak to her inner child and tell her that she is ‘safe’.

She shared that her childhood involved considerable and difficult trauma, which some people might relate to, while others may not.

Early hardship can lead to a psychological process called ‘splitting,’ as described by psychoanalyst Melanie Klein. Essentially, the part of us that experienced pain – whether physical or emotional – gets pushed away and isolated.

This is often where mental health issues begin – when we avoid acknowledging and dealing with our emotional pain.

We want to reconnect with who we truly are and make amends, acknowledging that we’ve been distant and held ourselves back for too long. We want to say, ‘I apologize for keeping you separated from me for so long.’

Everything feels calmer, and I can connect with my inner child – that part of me that’s like a three-year-old. I can reassure it, telling it that everything is alright and it’s safe now.

In a recent article for The Telegraph, Kate discussed how children who are abused sometimes wrongly believe they are at fault. She shared these thoughts while commenting on the case of Huw Edwards, who was convicted in 2024 of possessing illegal images of children.

Young children don’t have the mental or emotional capacity to fully understand difficult experiences. Their brains are still developing, and the part responsible for logical thought and understanding isn’t mature enough to process what’s happening. And if we’re honest, even as adults, it can be hard to make sense of things.

This leaves children deeply confused, frightened, and in pain. They feel shocked and betrayed, with an overwhelming sense that something terrible has occurred, leading them to believe they themselves are somehow at fault.

She stated that she recognizes and supports anyone who experienced childhood sexual abuse. She emphasized that seeking help is a courageous act and that healing is possible. Most importantly, she affirmed that the blame for abuse never lies with the survivor.

Since Kate shared her own story, she’s received a huge number of messages from people with similar experiences. These messages showed that shame had a significant impact on how people acted and made choices in their everyday lives.

The former newsreader, known from Strictly Come Dancing, switched careers after studying child psychology and now works as a qualified child counsellor.

She previously said of her career change: ‘My dad changed his career a lot. 

He had a lot of different jobs – truck driver, taxi driver, locksmith, even a hypnotherapist – so I’ve always felt comfortable trying new things. I’ve always been passionate about sharing people’s experiences. When I was 19, I volunteered in Zimbabwe with Operation Raleigh and I used to record everything with a small tape recorder.

I spent time living on a kibbutz in Israel and regularly crossed into Palestinian territories to conduct interviews. Early in my career, while working for a news channel, I persistently asked my editors to send me to cover the Iraq War. My goal is always to deeply understand and share people’s stories, whether I’m reporting from places like Afghanistan or Iraq, or working with children. The core of what I do remains the same, I just approach it in different ways depending on the situation.

Kate and her husband, Mike Heron, first connected when she participated in a war-zone training course he was leading – Mike is a former Marine. They got married in 2010.

They have two children; daughter Clemency and son Wilbur. 

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2026-03-30 00:50