Gemma

Gemma came to the sessions after surgery to remove her breasts after having suffered with cancer. She was a sporty, rode horses, was married and was in employment. She came to look at why she was having such bad headaches, low mood, nausea and because she had also noticed increasing difficulties in her relationships.

Gemma was initially very sceptical. She expressed her concerns openly with the group which gave other people permission to question what we were doing. During the time with the group Gemma explored many of her feelings using imagery, movement and reflection with the group.

She explored strong feelings of rage using imagery that came through processes we did. She also started to get in touch with some of her underlying needs, namely needing support and reassurance from those around her. She found she wanted more physical nurturing (and got it) and used all sorts of visual and creative cues to help her come to this realisation.

She started also to link when her symptoms came on to when certain issues were stimulated. She also started to link the delayed messages her body was giving her about her wellbeing e.g. shock in her body post-surgery. Gemma used the support and the creative process of the group to question and explore the meaning of her symptoms in her life.

This opened new doors for Gemma. She found some reduction in her symptoms and realised her needs more clearly. With the group she was able to unpick and speak about some of the fear around her feelings of depression and fears around her own death.

Gemma became more in touch with her vulnerability but was in a better position to get her needs met. This was from friends, colleagues and most importantly for her, her husband. She was someone with whom we talked about links onto ongoing support if she felt she needed it.

Gemma was good at expressing how surprised she was at the support she felt from the group. She was also someone who pushed and questioned things as we went along, not just conforming to a structure but creating it for herself.