Trauma Counseling link 2

As counselor I receive clients in two major groups:

a. Individual counseling

b. Group counseling

1. Individual counseling:
These people are at various stages of distress and are often unprepared to manage their feelings in the context of group setting. Therefore, individual counseling is done.

How it is done:
As a counselor you will listen to the client. Sometimes medical intervention may be required to help the client to overcome ailments related to the stress. As a counselor also I help the client to begin sharing the emotions that she has and I will try to discourage denial, repression or unnecessary expression. I also have to work with a client on the thoughts and perceptions that are related to the traumatic event. This I have to do because the traumatic event will lead to painful emotions.

After trying all this then I will start giving some social support e.g. by giving some money to start income-generating projects.

This has worked very well and most of our women are now supporting their families and themselves. They have hope in life and they can cope with any difficulties that they may come across.

2. Group counseling:

Group counseling is done to our women who have had individual counseling. I always group them in groups of 10-15 people. These women are grouped together because of similar problems. Group counseling helps them a lot of because they learn to share each others experiences. When group counseling is done, I always ask another counselor to help me.

We use a room which is carefully selected free of noise, no distraction and no telephone calls. We arrange the seats in a circle and we counselors sit scattered among the clients. I always start with introductions and by stating the rules of group counseling, making participants feel accepted and cared for, emphasizing confidentiality.

The reason for group counseling is to help the clients participate and work through their emotional pain, physical, mental, and spiritual healing process.

This has helped our women to cope with life. Both the individual and group counseling has healed them physically, mentally and psychologically.

One of the women in this group counseling session has lost her eight children, and her husband most of her family members. She separated with her family when the war started. On the day she left her home, she left with some of her children, but after sometime she could not find them. Of course they were dead. She was cut by machetes on the head and neck. She has deep and noticeable scars, she is always suffering from headaches, she does not go to out in the sunshine, her tears are always flowing and she has lost hope in life. She does not sleep; she is always looking for the remains of her children and of her family members. She never wanted to see children playing or pass by the school where she will see them playing. She would remember her children and cry her head off. This woman was in a bad shape. She wanted to end her life. She used to say that she wishes she can died and join her children and the rest of her family.

Another woman survived with her lost born, but in her it was as if she was left alone. This woman happened to be in our association, she met others who looked like her, who had passed through the same problems. Of course when they meet, they always share their experiences.

I met this woman as a client. I did individual counseling for her. I had many sessions with her. She had a lot of grief; I helped her through the process and started seeing that she has her last born to look after and to love. She started finding other children of her relatives who were in the orphanages. She started collecting them. Her hope to live came back. She has now four children in her home.

I also introduced group counseling to her and this helped her a lot more because she shared her experiences with other women. This showed her that she is not alone. There are even others with more painful stories. But we have restored their lives to normality.