Elizabeth* is an asylum-seeker, originally from Kenya. She came to the UK in 2007, having fled years of domestic violence and abuse. Elizabeth is homeless and experiences loneliness and isolation, as well as depression and anxiety as a result of her experiences in Kenya and as an asylum-seeker in London. Elizabeth was referred to WCC by the British Red Cross, and was able to access 18 weeks of counselling from our Multi-Ethnic Counselling Service. Elizabeth was highly engaged and attended her sessions regularly.
During her counselling Elizabeth worked with the counsellor to manager her anxiety and depression, and to process some of the difficult and traumatising experiences that had happened to her, both in Kenya and as an asylum-seeker in the UK. At WCC we use the NHS scoring system of PHQ-9 and GAD-7 to measure depression and anxiety (respectively). In her first session Elizabeth presented with severe depression and anxiety, and her scores were close to being the maximum amount. By the end of her counselling her anxiety and depression had improved significantly, and her scores represented moderate levels of anxiety and depression. By working with her counsellor in a safe and caring environment Elizabeth was able to find some peace and stability.
This is what she had to say about her counselling experience:
“I felt much less isolated on the days that I have my sessions, as I do not socialise with people very often. She was the only person that I shared my worries and fears to. Throughout my therapy sessions, I have more understanding of myself and my life. I was being able to talk about important and difficult experiences with my counsellor and I felt that she heard me and understood me… I have two parts inside me, one part is valuable – that I like myself and that other part wants to kill myself but I felt strongly that my valuable part was heavier than the other part during the course of therapy.”
In order to further combat the isolation Elizabeth faced she decided to join the social activity group and has taken part in a number of activities including cooking, a local walking tour of Waterloo and a visit to the Oval cricket ground. She told us that attending the group “Really brings back our lost confidence”. During this time Elizabeth also started volunteering with other organisations, helping out other refugees and asylum-seekers like herself.
(*Name and image have been invented to protect the identity)