Aw di wok? (How is the work?)

Can I just say, that I think whomever invented skype must be a counselor. I love the logon message “take a deep breath”. I of course follow the instructions and always feel better. It is an important reminder to all to take a second and breath deeply. Skype is a wonderful, little miracle that allows me to speak with a range of people from my Grandparents in Florida, to friends around the world and of course Stephen. The power of talking cannot be underestimated.

Talking is the basis of relationships, growth and healing. This is what I have to offer my clients here. I cannot provide money, food, shelter or protection but I can provide an ear to listen with and a heart to care. Group counseling provides numerous psychological benefits including a support system; learning one is not alone; ability to improve the quality of one’s life; and opportunity to gain a more hopeful future. This process of healing requires hard work and courage from group members. This is my role here, I co-facilitate trauma groups.

Yesterday, I found myself explaining this to 20 beautiful, inquisitive eyes staring at me. Our group draws on an amalgamation of Judith Herman, Yalom and trauma-focused CBT (Sorry, to all the non-social work people out there, basically they are the inspirational gurus of trauma and group work and the therapy I deeply adore). This was our first of 10, 1 ½ hour sessions. The groups are run in Krio (I have the assistance of a translator). Luckily, many words are similar and I am beginning to grasp the sentence construction, so was not completely clueless. The group went well and I am really excited about the next 9 weeks!