Rock icon turns client stories into music

Born to suffer. That was one of the lines composed by young teenage clients of the Medical Foundation during a series of powerful sessions in which they laid bare feelings of lost lives and uncertain identities which were then transformed into music by rock icon and long-term MF supporter, Skin.

The former Skunkanansie front-woman led a series of music sessions with more than 30 young adolescent clients who played, read and sang with her on a professionally produced CD that formed the backdrop to the group's first ever public display of their work.

A one-day exhibition for the charity's supporters at its London headquarters showcased art, stories and poems revealing the hopes and aspirations of the young clients as well as telling the stories of their past.

For nine years, the MF has used a pioneering approach combining role-play and storytelling to work with children who may have suffered or witnessed extreme violence. By using this form of therapeutic work through displacement, the charity has helped many young survivors work through past trauma.

Professional storyteller Shai Schwartz initiated the creative process by encouraging the group to focus on themes of injustice, prompting them with starting points such as "if I could put the clock back", and "if I could I would".

For ‘Sergio', 17, the project was an important step in alerting others to the reality of how he and others like him have suffered and continue to suffer.

"During the holidays, instead of sitting inside and thinking we've kept busy," said Sergio, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. "I want people to know more about what's happening in my country. In the project I sang about how I miss my family, how I hope to see them alive again. My parents supported the opposition and were arrested, I too spent some time in jail. I came to the UK alone. It has been very difficult. Here at the MF we all share the same experience, it's comforting to be with other people who understand."

‘Christian Madi' also fled the DRC when his parents were killed. He was 15 when he arrived in the UK, alone. "I have no parents here to support me. I've been pleased to be part of this project because I could write about home, what came into my mind, I could express my feelings in a safe environment."

Sheila Melzak, consultant child and adolescent psychotherapist, said the focus of the project was to work through the emotional, cultural and ethical conflicts children face as a result of the overwhelming violence and loss they have suffered. She added: "On top of that they are thrown into a social dynamic that is so far removed from what they are familiar with, that we are also dealing with problems of alienation and transition while they are developing their adolescent identities.

"With the exhibition, we wanted to channel the in-depth work we do in processing difficult feelings and memories into a form of artistic expression that would develop the imagination of each young person and give everyone something to be proud of, while showing the value of child and adolescent centred psychotherapeutic work."