Therapy and counselling
How to read the stories

Therapy and counselling

One of the most significant long-term effects of victim-survivor abuse may be on the mental health of the victim. Even once their situation has stabilised, victim-survivors may experience many difficult feelings:

• loss or grief

• anger

• loneliness

• lack of confidence

• low self-esteem

• anxiety

• depression.

If the victim-survivor has an intellectual disability or communication difficulty, they may express their pain in different ways, for example through behaviour which seems inappropriate, or which their supporters or friends find difficult to deal with. They may need support from a specialist psychotherapy service or Community Learning Disability Team to communicate about their experiences in a way that helps them begin to recover.

In psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling a therapeutic relationship is built up between client and therapist. The therapeutic relationship becomes a chance to experience a trusting, safe relationship, providing an opportunity for the person to discuss what is happening in their life, and to think about how they can bring about changes if they are unhappy with the way things are.

Group support can be very helpful to people who have experienced domestic abuse, creating opportunities to share experiences, as well as to talk about relationships and ‘good’ and ‘bad’ ways of treating one another. Groups can engage in drama and role play to explore how people relate to one another and to work out the difference between unhealthy and healthy relationships. Role play can offer people the opportunity to try out ways of responding to different situations. This can be like a rehearsal so that it becomes easier to be assertive in real relationships.

How to read the stories

There is no right or wrong way to read the stories.

Some people are not used to reading stories. Start at the beginning and read the story in each picture. Encourage the reader to move through the pages at their own pace.
Encourage the person to tell the story in their own words. You will discover what they think is happening, what they already know, and how they feel. If you are using the pictures to help explain a procedure to someone, you may need to describe or clarify the actions being shown in each picture to help them understand. Try not to challenge the reader(s) or suggest their ideas are wrong.
Some pictures may be more difficult to understand. It can help to prompt the people you are supporting, for example:
• Who do you think that is?
• What is happening?
• How is he or she feeling?
• Do you feel like that? Has it happened to you/ your friend/ your family?
Allow people enough time to follow the pictures at their own pace. Allow time for discussion of each picture.
Some people may benefit from reading the larger story from which the extract has been taken. This will allow them to explore their feelings and experiences in more depth. To buy the complete book, follow the link to the bookshop that appears at the end of the story.