India’s Story: ‘coping with depression’

8-year-old India came to The Place2Be last year. She was withdrawn and lacked motivation. Her attendance at school was also an issue and the Education Welfare Officer had been involved with the family.

At the initial referral meeting, India's Mum disclosed that she suffered from depression and after the break-up of her marriage to India's father she had been unable to look after India. So India had then been placed in the care of relatives for several months and she had to attend a different school.

Once India returned to live with her Mum, she began to display aggressive and defiant behaviour at home. At school she appeared very sad and anxious. At the time of the referral Mum consented to India being seen for counselling but she wasn't ready to think about the impact her depression was having on India, nor was she able to think about accepting some support for herself.

India's relationship with her counsellor developed very slowly. She was very anxious and reluctant to express any feelings or thoughts about her home life during her sessions. Over time this changed and India began to feel safe enough to share and work through some painful memories.

After several missed appointments, India's Mum met with me, the School Project Manager, and agreed to my referring her to A Place for Parents.   During the last few months I have also worked very closely with India's class teacher to support her understanding of her behaviour in light of her past experience of insecure attachment to her Mum.

A lot of joined-up thinking went into helping India and ensuring that her family had access to the support they needed. As a result India is now far less anxious. Her teacher reports that both her concentration and attendance have improved and she seems happier.