Example of counselling
Wilhelma (not her real name) is an 18 year old woman from an African country. At 13 she was kidnapped by soldiers who held her in custody for a long time during which time she was raped and tortured. She escaped to a refugee camp in another African country where she saw several of her relatives killed. She arrived in this country aged 16 and applied for refugee status.
When she started counselling she was haunted by grief, insomnia, flashbacks and panic attacks – the latter triggered by situations involving authority figures. The counselling helped her to begin to address these symptoms and her profound feelings of being alone and unsafe.
Gradually, as trust developed in the counsellor, Wilhelma was enabled for instance to relate more effectively with authority figures and to interact with them in the knowledge that she had done nothing wrong and that she had rights. As her confidence improved she was also helped to make her own choices – she declined a marriage proposal and, even though she was pregnant, was later glad of her decision when the man became violent (she was also helped to find a safe place in relation to this).
The counselling has helped Wilhelma prepare for the child and supported her through college. Her application for asylum in this country has been given weight by a report written by the counsellor which was able to relate material (with her consent) that she had been too frightened and ashamed to disclose at the time of her interview by the Home Office, and may have a significant bearing on the outcome of her case.