"Thank you for your time, effort and dedication"

It has been almost five months since my relationship with the Gender Based Violence Service came to a natural end and I have taken the time since to reflect before putting my experience down in words. Reflection is a key takeaway from the service for me and I began to really appreciate it when it was put into practice during the sessions, it’s something I had always gone through life using pessimistically, and now reflecting optimistically is proving its importance in many aspects of my life. There are many constructive takeaways from the service that I will hold dear and continually draw on for personal development.

The service supported and helped me in working through my experience of being sexually harassed in the workplace and went a step further by helping me to think about practically, and approach logically, other significant problems in my life. It played a greater role in my life than I anticipated.

I hadn’t heard of the service prior to an appointment with the Mental Health Nurse at my GP practice and I am very thankful to have been referred as it is one of the best services I have experienced. The sessions became the highlight of my week, they were something positive and stable, offering a safe space free of judgement, during a time where I was feeling lost and low in life and facing a lot of uncertainty.

The sessions with Leanne helped me to overcome my experience of sexual harassment and the debilitating anxiety that came with it due to being victimised after raising a complaint and feeling very alone going through it. Having Leanne’s presence in my life eased the loneliness. Leanne also worked with me on building my self-esteem, self-compassion, and assertiveness, which were particularly vital for me as I have always struggled with these and the whole experience of the sexual harassment and what came with it had further chipped away at me.

For many years I have navigated life without direction because my childhood was plagued with trauma and I unconsciously let this influence the trajectory of my life, passively keeping myself behind. While doing the work with Leanne I started taking steps to gradually pull myself out of this rut I’d become trapped in to finally start living my life true to myself.

The confidence Leanne helped me to start feeling within myself enabled me to realise that I have a lot to offer and this led to me taking steps to begin fulfilling a long held desire to work in the field of Mental Health and particularly within the NHS. So far I have a confirmed place to start a degree in Mental Health Nursing and I have recently started work as a Healthcare Support Worker. I attribute these accomplishments to the work done in the sessions with Leanne.

The progress that was achieved throughout my journey with the GBV Service was to such a high standard that I didn't feel the negative feelings I normally would with endings when my time with the service came to an end. This demonstrated just how far I had come through the sessions, Leanne recognised the change in me throughout and knew when I was ready to continue my journey independently, she is truly in the right line of work and is an asset to the service. I feel very fortunate to have crossed paths with this wonderful human! Thank you for your time, effort and dedication to an essential service.