Vanessa's story

Vanessa was referred to The Place2Be by her teacher because of concerns about her behaviour.   Vanessa's parents had died tragically and she had been sent over to the UK to live with her Aunt, which meant that she joined the school several weeks into the autumn term.

Vanessa's teacher noticed that she seemed rather withdrawn and quiet in class and had struggeld to make any friends. By the spring term the teacher became very concerned as Vanessa seemed to burst into fits of anger at the slightest thing. She had become quite violent at times and had, as a result, been excluded from school for a short period of time.

Work with Vanessa was quite gradual.   In sessions she was very polite and often quiet.   Her counsellor noticed that she particularly liked to paint and draw.   As the weeks went by Vanessa produced many pictures. As she painted, she often looked angry and her gestures gave the impression that she was expressing what she was keeping inside.   But when her counsellor gently asked about it, Vanessa didn't acknowledge any angry feelings.

Her counsellor wondered if she might like to use finger paints – she did and so for the next few weeks she dug her hands into the pots of paint; sloshing it onto the paper where it was spread and mixed and pushed about.   Gradually the paintings became less dark and Vanessa's actions seemed less urgent.

After several weeks Vanessa asked her counsellor to paint with her and for the first time Vanessa made eye contact with her counsellor and spoke directly to her.   Initially she made a few comments about her family and eventually she was able to re-enact some of the thoughts and feelings that were troubling her.

Work with Vanessa finished after three terms, by which time she had worked through a great deal of her grief. In class, her teacher noticed that her angry outbursts had stopped, she was much more engaged in lessons and more successful in making friends.