Small Steps BIG IMPACT

Domestic abuse can have a devastating impact on women’s mental health. Someone who knows this all too well is Faith, a Mental Health Practitioner working at Stepping Stones Luton.

Faith has been supporting wellbeing in Luton for almost 10 years. She offers trauma counseling to many of the women that come through our doors. Many are fearful, confused and feel powerless. Some are experiencing anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts or behaviour. But Faith’s calm and gentle nature immediately puts people at ease and her desire to help women rebuild their lives shines through.

The women Faith works with have experienced multi-traumas in their lives. A difficult childhood is often followed by abusive romantic relationships. Other factors such as the loss of a child or family member, financial difficulties or substance misuse may also be at play. This compounds the impact on their mental health.  

£26 could help us to run a community-based clinic offering support and advice to vulnerable women. 

Unfortunately, victims of domestic abuse don’t always receive the mental health care they need from statutory agencies. Medication is readily prescribed but what these women really need is specialist long-term counselling and therapy. That isn’t necessarily forthcoming. 

“Often, it’s a long-term work when you’re working with trauma because you’re not just helping somebody adjust to some specific memories or things that have gone on in their life, you’re helping them find a new way of being,” says Faith. “Their whole mindset is usually ‘the world is a bad place with people who will do terrible things. There’s an expectation that bad things are going to happen. You get stuck in survival mode.” 

 Survival mode is not a good place. The heightened stress takes a toll on the body both mentally and physically. One of Faith long-term clients, Mary*, had been stuck in survival mode for decades following an abusive relationship and a lack of support from friends and family. Unable to switch off, Mary stayed on high alert for weeks at a time until she simply passed out from exhaustion.  

 Faith gave her a breathing or grounding exercise to do where you clench your fists and then exhale and release. The more you do it the more aware you become of your body: “Grounding exercises slow down the heart rate and tell the mind it’s OK, it’s safe. The mind is then able to relax and switch off a little bit better. A lot of what I do when I’m working with trauma is about helping the mind to relax and feel safe again.” 

Grounding exercises are simple in nature, but these small steps have a big impact in the lives of abused women. “All of the grounding techniques are very simple, but they usually have a huge impact on trauma,” says Faith. “There’s a lot of self-care and taking note of who in your life is trustworthy to create more safety around you and in your mind. That’s all the beginnings of trauma work.” 

A gift of £50 could pay for a trauma counselling session for a woman impacted by abuse.  

Another small step with big impact is the practice of therapy. The women we encounter at Stepping Stones often live chaotic lives. They can struggle to open-up about their abuse to friends and family, so simply taking time out in the week to stop and evaluate is useful. “With trauma, your mind disconnects from the body, and you are no longer aware of how your body is reacting to things. Taking an hour a week out of a very busy life that’s just rushing away can be incredibly helpful,”  

Faith is seeing remarkable changes in the lives of the women she works with. Mary is continuing to use the breathing exercises Faith gave her to find a ‘moment of peace’. She only wishes she’d encountered Stepping Stones when her abuse started many years ago. Another client said the breathing exercises and therapy helped her process her trauma and see things differently: “Without this service, I would have likely spiralled and self-harmed again.” 

Faith’s life-changing work is only possible thanks to generous donations from people like you.

Right now, any donations to Stepping Stones Luton will be match funded by the Big Give meaning your gift will make double the difference.

Will you give today and help us make a BIG IMPACT in the lives of vulnerable women in Luton? 

Donate now

*Name changed to protect anonymity