James’ Place - Review by SK

I am one of the users at James’ Place. I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and I am here to tell you how James’ Place has helped me. In the short time that I have been with them, they have helped diagnose me with PTSD.

First of all I was welcomed with a friendly face and was asked if I wanted a cup of tea or coffee. Then I met my counsellor, and she was so patient with me. It took me 20 min before I said anything, and when I did, she took her time and listened to everything I said. When she was chatting, and I had things to say, she stopped and listened again. She made me cry when she got me to chat about things I had put in the back of my mind…I felt like  so much weight was lifted off me, and it made me so light and happy that I could not wait to go back to my next session. Every week I was getting better - I’m not saying I was always in a good place - I had my down days and on those days I would call them up. James’ Place was always happy to help me get through it. Then, when I went to my next session, they would ask me how I was and what can we do to help you?

My counsellor asked me if she could contact my GP as she thought I may have PTSD - and she was right. More recently she has asked my GP to see if they can refer me to a PTSD group to help me cope, because everyday I keep having flashbacks (of an incident I had to deal with). She has also helped me to get support with my drinking as well because I do drink a lot when I am down. The service she referred me to is called Better Lives - specifically for drugs and alcohol. So far they have been good.

This week was due to be my last week with James’ Place and as I have so many problems  I’m going through, and other stuff going on, she has asked her boss if she can keep me going for another 4 weeks - and the great news is that they have said yes. 

One of the exercises we did is looking at coloured cards with different feelings and thoughts written on them. I had to go through them and lay them down according to which ones were most relevant. There were so many in the first week, and by the 7th week, the number of cards on the table had gone down by 75%.

Week 1, This is how i felt.

Week 7, cards on left is how I am now and cards on right is what James’ Place help me with.

How did the cards help me? Well, seeing them in front of me showed me how bad I was, and everything I could see in the cards was all linked. It was useful to see things laid out physically rather than have it all as a mental process. Having it all out there on the table means things could be moved around. I could see myself more clearly through that process.  To begin with, it was hard to know where to start and which card to choose first, but week by week the number of cards was geting smaller and smaller. Seeing that change in front of me was making me feel better about myself.

On one of my last sessions James’ Place asked if I wanted to bring a family member in to help to make a safety plan. So my sister came to a session and it was one of the best things I did, because she knows what to do and how to support me when I'm feeling low.

THROUGH DOING THE WORK WITH THE COUNSELLOR I AM NOW NOT SCARED TO ASK FOR HELP, WHEN I NEED IT.

I want to say without James Place I don’t think I would be here now. They have been amazing and have had so much patience.