Group Counselling
We conducted group counselling program for students in our centres who had been significantly affected by early exposure to traumatic events. These experiences had impacted their academic performance, relationships, and overall well-being.
Throughout the sessions, we provided a structured and supportive environment where students could safely discuss their experiences and emotions while learning new skills. They openly shared their struggles and received mutual support from their peers. Facilitators also observed a noticeable increase in participants’ self awareness.
This platform enabled students to recognise unhealthy coping patterns and develop
healthier tools to support their mental and emotional well-being. As a result, they gained a stronger sense of agency and experienced a growing feeling of belonging and community.
Nur’s Reflections
Many times I’ve heard this phrase from them: “Refugee life.” I reflected on how the impact of this phrase continues for the Rohingya people, generation after
generation. These precious ladies, how they have passed through so many
challenging situations is hard to imagine. They were survivors of human trafficking, rape, and violence; these were part of their life experiences before coming to the shelter where they no longer have to worry about escaping from place to place, trying to find a safe place to live, and where their children can have an opportunity for
the education they never had.
If we could only imagine what they’ve been through, then we could understand why they react the way they do. I wanted them to have hope and transformation, for their good and for the good of the generations to come after them. Their children are now living a different lifestyle, not in a refugee camp per se, but in their minds they are still trapped in the camp that has held them and their families for so long.
I had the idea of doing some group psychotherapy before moving into individual sessions for those who needed it most. For 10 weeks we were together, sharing life, seeking hope, and finding a reason to live. These ladies opened their hearts, shed tears, and experienced times when they simply needed someone to listen to their life
stories, whether through words or through art. They also discovered their own personal resources, which had often been hidden from them because of the pain and trauma they had endured. For them, it was like seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, with hope and transformation, like caterpillars becoming butterflies, beautiful
and free.
