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'It's like coming to mum's house' - why counselling client Lucy loves the New Futures Project
- ciaran583
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
"I'm not crying so much anymore. Usually, I would be crying if I was talking like this," she says.
Lucy - not her real name - has struggled with poor mental health, including crippling anxiety, since she was a child.
She tells us her childhood in Pakistan was scarred by cruel treatment, particularly by her brother and increasingly so following the death of her father.
However, Lucy - who is receiving counselling from the New Futures Project - is also living with the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. The perpetrator was a man closely linked to her family.
The combined legacy of her ill-treatment and the sexual abuse remained with her into adulthood, bubbling up from within in the form of chronic self-doubt, panic attacks as well as bouts of paranoia.
She says: "My father died when I was young and my brother would not let me go out or to go to school.
"He didn't let me have friends, so I always had to play on my own. He wanted to control my life, even what I watched on television."
She remembers pleading to be allowed to watch her favourites, the Pink Panther Show and Tom and Jerry.
She says: "I didn't tell anyone about the sexual abuse, not even my mum. I couldn't do it. I think was scared people would say it was my fault.
"That man damaged my childhood, and he has damaged my health as an adult. Sometimes I dream about him and what he did to me when I was so young.
"I can never forget and I have been carrying it in my head all these years.
"I don't want to tell my mum about him and what he did. She is elderly and I think she might feel guilty that it happened."
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Lucy, who lives with her children in Leicester says her anxiety began to mount in recent years, not least because of the daily struggle of making ends meet.
"Life was becoming harder and harder and I was having panic attacks all the time. I became paranoid," she tells us.
She began to look for help and turned to the Shama Women's Centre, in Highfields, Leicester.
Staff there found her temporary accommodation before helping her secure her present home, a housing association flat.
Eventually, a member of the team at social exclusion charity P3 suggested Lucy speak to the New Futures Project about counselling and the other forms of support we offer here.
She says: "So I called New Futures and said 'I need help. I'm struggling'.
"The person who answered the phone said straight away 'we can help you' and they made an appointment for me. I was so relieved."
Now, as well as her weekly session with her counsellor, Lucy also comes into the project to see her support worker - who is one of our social work placement students - who helps her address everyday difficulties.
This combination of therapeutic and practical support is changing her life, she says.
"The counselling New Futures provides has helped me a lot. It has made me feel a lot better. I've been doing it for about three months now.
"It's not fixed me fully, but I am coping a lot better than I was before.
"I'm not crying so much anymore. Usually I would be crying if I was talking like this about the things that have happened to me.
"There's a saying in Pakistan that if you are going to your mum's house you are going to feel relaxed and safe.
"That is why I say 'I'm coming to mum's house' when I am on my way to the New Futures Project."
Manisha Zala, counselling co-ordinator at the New Futures Project, said: "Coming to us for counselling has empowered her as a woman to grow.
"This is why I love what we do here. I see the impact the project has on the people who come to us, helping them change their lives in a positive way."
If you are trying to cope alone with poor mental health and emotional difficulties then we think we can help you.
To be sure we can support as many people as we can, our counselling is available face-to-face or online.
This means clients who live locally can visit us at our home in London Road - just across the road from Leicester railway station - while those who cannot make it into the city can log-in from home.
Crucially, we are determined to make sure our counselling fees suit just about every budget.
If you are uncertain about the cost, please speak to us and we will explain how we structure things.
The New Futures Project offers a comprehensive welfare and counselling service for women and young people dealing with sexual abuse or exploitation, domestic violence, trafficking, poverty and debt, substance use or mental ill-health.
Call us on 0116 251 0803 or send us a message at: info@new-futures.org.uk
You can find us at 71 London Road, Leicester, LE2 0PE.