Talking groups

Psychotherapy groups provide a safe environment for survivors to work through their traumatic experiences and begin to build a new life in the UK.

Often the desire and ability to trust others has been brutally shattered by people's experiences at the hands of torturers.

The MF's talking psychotherapy groups offer an opportunity for survivors to gradually rebuild trust in other people and thereby move towards regaining a sense of identity as meaningful relationships develop in the group.

The sense of belonging engendered by a group, and the connections established between group members through verbal communication, help to relieve the profound sense of isolation that a life in exile can create.

The therapeutic culture of a group is built and maintained by both the therapists and the members who attend, which means that survivors can reconnect with a sense of their own agency in the face of the powerlessness that can so often permeate their lives.

Members are able to offer and receive help from each other. They may bear witness to each other's traumatic stories, creating a space in which deeply shameful feelings can be tolerated. Or they may connect over the ordinary aspects of everyday life, as well as happy memories.

Importantly, a group is an environment in which members can meet as fellow human beings, not wholly or solely defined by their traumatic histories.