Project Description
Young carer Jerome felt numb and disconnected. Counselling helped him live a life in colour.
Jerome grew up as a young carer in an abusive home. Multiple agencies had been involved throughout his childhood, including numerous counsellors. He’d felt let down by them all. Jerome came to Youth Concern wanting to give counselling one last go. He felt numb and disconnected from himself. He wanted to feel present and live a life in colour.
Perceptive and articulate, Jerome explained to his Youth Concern counsellor that he was torn between a fear of trusting that he would be heard, and a desperation to understand how he could live like the care-free young people he observed.
Jerome started the sessions wanting to figure out how to live, but soon realised what he wanted more was to recount all the trauma he’d endured, and to do so without worrying it would elicit a reaction or abandonment by me. Working together in this safe, empathic space, Jerome reconnected with his past, releasing feelings that had been suppressed for years. With this release came empowerment. He reported that after years of numb existence, it had dawned on him whilst shopping how connected he felt, and with it he was finally able to cry. Jerome felt that at this point he was strong enough to move forward without counselling and figure out how he wanted live fully, on his own.
