Penny Boreham, Intake Manager
We are so grateful to our former clients for participating in this event. We’d like you all to know how well they are doing.
On January 31st 2012, we held a breakfast meeting to continue to explain our services to central London GP’s, therapists and psychiatrists with a short presentation from Benjamin Fry about how an untreated (unresolved) trauma affects our nervous system and so therefore affects our behaviour.
He also spoke about the “talking boundary” which Khiron House practitioners use as a method in groups in both our residential and day clinic. This was based on the book “Intimacy Factor” by Pia Mellody and is an essential therapeutic tool in our clinics.
We organised for a few of our previous clients to give testimonials at this meeting about their experiences within Khiron House. Three clients were able to do this and we are very grateful to them for their feedback.
Two clients, H and G, who spent 14 months and 5 months in our residential clinic respectively spoke very openly about their backgrounds, their reasons for looking for treatment and help and why they chose Khiron House. H had been severely disturbed by a “trauma” workshop and needed continuing care, following a very stressful period in her life. G had been suffering with serious mental ill-health, presenting as anxiety and depression, and physical problems for some time and was now suicidal, unable to find a treatment which made sense to him or would work.
They spoke of situations within the house, both difficult and rewarding. Of relationships that developed with the therapists and fellow residents, some of which have continued since leaving the clinic. There was also discussion of how their physical health has improved since receiving treatment. G suffered from type 2 diabetes and was rather overweight so the impact of that on his body was extremely difficult. There were issues with his lack of concentration and short term memory loss as well as severe physical pain in several parts of his body. He was on a concoction of medication which he was required to take daily.
Now, he has lost a lot of weight and is a physically healthy man. His pain has dissipated, his diabetes is under control and he is now not taking any medication at all. His concentration is back and was able to talk through all of his pain, his trauma, his desperation and his journey to where he is now; all via webcam from where he is currently enjoying himself in a therapeutic community in the sunshine.
H was one of our first residents to arrive at the clinic with severe PTSD, co-dependency issues and dissociation. She also had physical problems such as lack of concentration and sometimes not being able to hear people, asthma and uncontrollable twitching. She worked well throughout her treatment at the clinic, engaged with the therapists and attended all groups. She also added to her treatment at Khiron House by going to 12 step meetings which greatly aided her progress.
She talked about groups predominantly and how working within the talking boundary model helped her understand how her reactions to other people were triggers to her past potentially and not attacks on her.
She is now doing outpatient work in London and will be looking for a part time job to ease her back into independent living. Her asthma has reduced in severity as has her twitching. She said the fact that she was sitting there and discussing everything, answering questions from Benjamin as well as our other guests, was a huge step forward for her and she was very proud to be able to do this.
Our third client “F” was from our Day Clinic who had been attending individual sessions and groups every week for several months. She initially came after feeling an uncontrollable rage and anger towards family members. She couldn’t explain it or manage it which led to fear and panic in her life. During treatment she realised why she felt that way and that childhood triggers were perhaps something to do with it. By having somatic experiencing she learnt how to understand and process her feelings in her body, and by coming to weekly talking boundary groups, which is educational as well as therapeutic, she discovered how to manage herself when triggered sometimes at home.
She now has a very good relationship with her family and doesn’t have this same anger towards them when they wind her up!
All in all, an extremely successful meeting, which we hope to replicate sometime soon for those that unfortunately missed it.
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