Sam came to her first session saying she was struggling with self-harm and social anxiety. We talked about what she would like to be feeling and doing instead and she said she’d like to feel calm in social situations and learn some healthy coping strategies instead of cutting herself.
As she described her perfect day where she’d achieved a 10/10 on both these hopes she began to see she was already doing some brilliant things to help her to deal with anxious thoughts. She remembered she had been writing poetry and that had really helped, so she started to focus on the positives of that instead of seeing herself as “someone who self-harmed” she was so happy to realise this about herself. As we continued with her sessions she saw more and more about herself that she liked and by session 5 said, with a massive smile, that she had decided she was really happy in her own skin and no longer worried about what others thought about her.