Origami as therapy
Sometimes it is hard to believe the depths of human cruelty. Because of this cruelty, on occasion, we work with people where it can be hard to know if there will be “success”.
I’ve worked with survivors at Freedom from Torture for a long time. One man I worked with was so traumatized by his ordeal he struggled to sit down, even in my therapy room. He feared what was behind him, thinking he was still at risk of further torture. He used elaborate arm movements to defend himself from his attackers, even though he had long since fled them.
He feared what was behind him, thinking he was still at risk of further torture. He used elaborate arm movements to defend himself from his attackers, even though he had long since fled them.
He was a high risk. Not so much from a desire to kill himself, but from the risk associated with trying to flee the perceived danger he was experiencing – like jumping out of a window or over a banister.
It was so bad he couldn’t even travel to therapy by himself.
For a while, it was difficult to know whether he would ever be able to heal.
After many sessions and perseverance, discussions with supervisors and more thought, we finally had a breakthrough: origami. It helped him focus on the present, and realize that he was safe, here in the UK.
After many sessions and perseverance, discussions with supervisors and more thought, we finally had a breakthrough: origami. It helped him focus on the present, and realize that he was safe, here in the UK.
Sometimes it can take a long time to help someone find something that provides them with some peace.
But that is what being a therapist at Freedom from Torture is about. To be compassionate, to do all that is possible with everything at our disposal so that even if we don’t get where we want to be as quickly as we’d like, we still know that we’ve done all we can.
Thank you for all you do to support our work!
-Robin Ewart-Biggs , Clinical Services Manager
