Nafsiyat Senior Counsellor, Sega Habtom, is featuring in the April issue of ‘Therapy Today’

Our Senior Counsellor, Sega Habtom, is featuring in next month's BACP magazine 'Therapy Today'.

In the article, Sega explores her journey from arriving in the UK from Eritrea as a refugee to now supporting refugees with both individual and group work.

"Since 2007, I’ve worked at Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre, starting as a trainee, and now I am a senior accredited counsellor. At Nafsiyat, we work with ethnic minorities, including refugees and asylum seekers who have complex needs. We run different groups, and I work with both individuals and groups.

Many of the group members were forced to seek asylum and elected to become refugees to escape various atrocities in their home countries, such as political unrest, religious persecution and natural disasters. These journeys to seek safety are long and traumatising, and the risks are high. Refugees face re-traumatisation when they arrive in their new country of asylum. This trauma has to be relived when they tell their stories to the Home Office in a language and culture they’re unfamiliar with. Asylum decisions can take up to 20 years and may require appealing or reapplying.

Most refugees find it very hard to trust their therapist and are unable to feel safe enough to tell their stories. They might associate the therapist with the Home Office or another controlling system. An intercultural therapy approach is vital when working with refugees, and it’s crucial that there is a supporting framework to help everyone get the support they need, either individually or in a group."

To read the full article, click here.