“I lost my mother when I was three years old, and I grew up in a home full of people who were dealing with that tragedy in their own ways,” the ‘Law & Order: SVU’ star said at the 18th annual Hope for Depression Research Foundation. seminar

Despite the intense nature of his role Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay It is nothing if not funny and joyful.

And so the actor began his speech at the 18th annual event. Hope for Depression Research Foundation seminar by joking.

“Thank God I got an honorary doctorate from John Jay University because otherwise I would actually be super distrustful of all the doctors (in this room) right now,” she joked while being honored with the organization’s Hope Award for Depression Advocacy.

The luncheon, held Nov. 12 at The Plaza Hotel in New York City, brought together leading scientists and psychiatrists to discuss the latest research on trauma and depression and examine “how the brain heals.”

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Hargitay, who also advocates for victims of sexual violence Joyful Heart Foundationvery familiar with it all discussion around complex trauma – and the necessary healing that follows.

“Joyful Heart was my reaction to reading the letters I received from survivors when I set out. SVU “852 years ago,” he said, nodding to the show’s record-breaking broadcast on television (currently in its 26th season).

“Joyful Heart is my reaction to learning about sexual violence statistics and having them shake me on the back and everyone being slack-jawed because they don’t talk about these statistics and talk about these issues because they are so prevalent and it’s an epidemic in our country in our world,” she added. “And now I know that Joyful Heart is also an answer to my own inner need for healing.”

When Hargitay was just three years old, she and her two older brothers were in a car accident that killed their mother. Hollywood icon Jayne Mansfield.

“Personally, I also went through the journey of learning how to respond to the various traumas I experienced in my life. I lost my mother when I was three and grew up in a household where there was no room to prioritize anyone because of the number of people dealing with tragedy in their own way and because there was so much pain.” said Hargitay in her speech.

“We didn’t have the tools we have now to metabolize and understand trauma, to understand all levels, to understand that it’s happening at the cellular level,” he explained. “So it wasn’t until much later in my life that I was able to do this on my own.”

In January, Hargitay wrote a first-person article for PEOPLE He shared that he, too, is a survivor of sexual trauma he experienced in his thirties.

“It wasn’t until much later that I found the language to accept him for who he was,” Hargitay said. “And as I said at the beginning, Joyful Heart was part of my response to my own experience of trauma and survivors where I built a whole foundation that responded to me in the way I wanted.”

Hargitay was also impressed with how the Hope for Depression Research Foundation merged with her own foundation, now in its 20th year.

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“I have been fortunate to find extraordinary therapists who have introduced me to many different modalities of healing, somatic reprocessing, somatic experiencing, which is a way of treating the way trauma lives in the body,” she said. “EMDR is structured therapy for trauma reprocessing. And internal family systems, people call it IFS or piece work. These methods gave me my life back, they rewired my nervous system and gave me a lot of space, which I’ve learned is kind of synonymous with healing.” “

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“I don’t know if I will ever find the words to express my gratitude to those who have accompanied me on my journey, to those who have reflected my trauma back to me, to those who have helped me integrate different aspects of myself and metabolize my own, the complex trauma that so many of us carry, we all have a story,” he said.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit It airs Thursdays at 9pm ET on NBC.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to: rainn.org.