“We can now see the smart and funny young lady that was hidden by the barriers that we helped her to break down.”

When Simone first came to us as a new client three years ago, she was very withdrawn. She found the noise and hubbub of the centre combined with a barrage of new and strange people in her life overwhelming at first.

She tended to isolate herself in whatever session she was in - sitting alone, often in the corner of the room facing the walls, and resisting all efforts to coax her out

Social interactions with other clients also proved problematic in the early months for Simone. She was unfortunately involved in several misunderstandings, or what to us might have seemed petty squabbles, but to her were major social disasters.

Over time Simone overcame her shyness and began to interact more with her fellow clients as opposed to only staff. Today, she has lunch with the rest of her peers rather than isolating herself in the corner of a room.

She participates much more in sessions and even has the confidence to stand in front of the class and present material.

My colleagues report that she is now typically the first to volunteer for parts in drama sessions and that she often takes the lead in discussions about feelings in yoga class.

She is able to much better judge social situations, taking time to think about if an interaction is worth getting upset about - instead of being prone to outbursts at any social slight whether real or imagined.

We’re pleased that Simone has taken great leaps in social confidence in the time that she has been with us at Papworth Trust. We can now see the smart and funny young lady that was hidden by the barriers that we helped her to break down.