Liz was referred to SERICC by the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) after she was raped by a friend of a friend after a party. Her main goal in counselling is to be “totally over it, be myself again”, as the rape made her frightened to go out, and caused her to withdraw into herself.
The uncertainty around what will happen with the police case, and whether the Crown Prosecution Service will decide it can go to court, has been causing Liz difficulties, because she is unsure what to prepare herself for. Despite this uncertainty, Liz is making every effort to get back on with her life,
Liz has managed to feel much more positive about herself and about the future, and feels confident that she can get to where she wants to be in her life.
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and is using her counselling sessions to build up her confidence, stop blaming herself for what the rapist did and improve her relationships with friends and family.
Since her counselling began, Liz has really worked at rebuilding her social life, and has started getting back out and about with her friends, spending more time with people she trusts. Her Mum, who is also receiving support from a counsellor, has already noticed that Liz is beginning to return to her “old self”. Liz has just started a new job, although the boss is not very understanding, so her counsellor has been supporting her to develop her assertiveness and feel more entitled to stand up for herself.