Art of helping abused children

I (Anthony Robbins) had an experience last year at one of our children's programs that I will never forget. The camps are twelve-day programs during which we teach children a lot of what is discussed in this book (Unlimited Power) and give them experiences that change their competency, their learning skills, and their confidence as fully alive human beings. During the summer of 1984, we ended the camp with a ceremony in which all the kids got gold medals like the ones in the Olympics. On the medals it said, "You can do magic." We didn't finish until about two in the morning, and it was a very joyous emotional event.
I got back to my room feeling bone-tired, knowing I had to be up at six A.M. in order to catch a plane to my next event but also feeling the way you do when you know you've really made a day count. So I was ready to get to sleep around 3 A.M. when I heard a knock at my door. I thought, who in the world can that be?
I open the door to find a young boy there. He said, " Mr. Robbins, I need your help." I started to ask him if he could call me in San Diego the following week, when I heard this sound behind him, and there was a little girl crying her eyes out.
I asked what the matter was, and the boy told me she didn't want to go home. I said to bring her in, and I'd anchor her, and she'd feel better and go home. He said that wasn't the problem. He said she didn't want to go home because her brother, who lived with her, had been sexually abusing her for the last seven years.
So I brought them both in, and using the tools we've talked about in this book, I changed her internal representation of those negative past experiences so that they no longer created any pain. Then I anchored* her into her most resourceful and powerful sates and linked them with her now altered internal representations so that the very thought or sight of her brother would immediately put her in a state of being in charge. After this session, she decided to call her brother. She got on the phone in a totally resourceful state and woke him up. "Brother!" she said in a tone he'd probably never heard before in his life. "I just want you to know that I'm coming home, and you best not even look at me in a way that makes me even think you're thinking of the things you used to do. Because if you do, you'll go to jail for rest of your life and be totally embarrassed. You will absolutely pay the price. I love you as my brother, but I will never accept those behaviors again. If I even think you're moving toward them, it's over for you. Bear in mind that I am serious. And I love you. Good-bye." He got the message.
She hung up the phone, feeling totally strong and in charge for the first time in her life. She hugged her little friend, and together they cried in relief. The night I worked with them, they both gave me the most incredible hugs I'd ever had. The young man said he didn't know how he could repay me. I told him that seeing the changes in her was greatest thanks I could receive. He said, "No, I've got to pay you in some way." Then he said, "I know something that means a lot to me." He reached up and slowly took off his gold medal, and he put it on me. They kissed me and left, saying they would never forget me. I walked upstairs after they left and got into bed. My wife, Becky, who had been listening to whole thing, was crying, and so was I. She said, "You're incredible. That child's life will never be the same." I said, "Thanks, honey, but anybody with the skills could have helped her." She said, "Yeah, Tony, anybody could have, but you did."

* Anchoring – The process by which any representation (internal or external) gets connected to and triggers subsequent string of representation and responses. Anchors can be naturally occurring or set up deliberately. An example of an anchor for a particular set of responses is what happen when you think of the way a special, much loved person says your name.

(Anthony Robbins - Unlimited Power)