When we met Tanya, she was struggling with her self-esteem, depressed, and involved in unhealthy friendships. She has two younger siblings, one of whom has multiple disabilities, and her family rely on her to help run the household. Her parents were open with here about the problems facing the family, all of which Tanya took on as her responsibility.

Tanya in the past had resorted to self-harming to get through the tough times, and although she wasn’t currently hurting herself when we met, she was worried that she would go back to that unhealthy method of coping. When we started to work with her, Tanya talked about how she had lost the ability to have fun as she was being asked to take on responsibility for her family.

When Tanya started with us, she would only talk about herself, using the group as place to unload her problems. Eight weeks on and she is now looking beyond herself, offering encouragement and friendship to others in the group, and helping make the group a comfortable and safe space for all.

This is what she says about coming to the group. “Love4Life gives the space to have conversations that can help you regain your sense of self.”