Woman finds solace
Counselling relaxes widow’s mind
EVERYTHING was going fine in her life until the demise of her husband almost two years ago. Since he was the sole breadwinner for the couple, she started to face socioeconomic issues after his death.
Unable to make ends meet, she decided to ask for help from her relatives, but they could not fully support her because they had their own issues.
She was then diagnosed with hypothyroidism. It is when the thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormones to meet the body’s needs.
As a result, she constantly feels pain in her body, especially her throat.
She then decided to move from Suva to Lautoka.
This is the story of a 56-yearold widow who is living on some relatives’ land in a farming community outside the city.
Her story came to light when she went to the Bayly Welfare Trust office in Lautoka recently and met Empower Pacific counsellor Jessica Philip, who is based there several times a week for the provision of mental health and psychosocial support to the most vulnerable individuals of society.
Empower Pacific and JP Bayly Welfare Trust work in partnership through a memorandum of understanding that was signed between the two organisations in September 2023 to strengthen the working relationship and assist the less fortunate in society with a holistic approach.
The woman, whom we shall refer to as client, said she was facing some problems and someone directed her to the Bayly Welfare office for assistance.
She met Ms Philip, who explained to her about Empower Pacific and what counselling was.
“I was facing so many issues in life and all at the same time. I didn’t know what to do as I had lost my husband and my health is also not well,” she said.
“I have been in this situation for the past 17 months when my husband passed away. I had to move from Suva to Lautoka.”
The client was provided two face-to-face counselling sessions conducted by Ms Philip.
Asked if counselling had made any difference in her life, she said that she had her doubts on whether she would be assisted or not when she first met the counsellor.
The reason for this, she said, was that she had lost hope after reaching out to some organisations for assistance before being told by a stranger to go to Bayly Welfare.
“But to my surprise, the two counselling sessions helped improve my life so much. I feel that now I’m able to manage stress.
“I also found happiness as after a long time I was being heard and understood by someone.
“Now, I’m living my life in a positive way instead of dwelling in the negative thoughts and focusing on finding a positive outcome for any issues I face in life.
“If anyone is going through any issues or problems in life and you don’t know how to come out of it, seek counselling as you never know that it could be a life changer for you,” said the client.
Ms Philip said the client walked into the Bayly Welfare Trust office in Lautoka in late August 2023 for something else, but met her and started talking about the issues she was facing.
“I held the first counselling session with her then and gave her some coping mechanism exercises that she can use to help her cope with the stress she was going through,” she said.
“The client came back for the second counselling session on September 7 and she gave me some feedback on how counselling has helped her mental health.”
Ms Philip said apart from being counselled, the client has also received assistance from Bayly Welfare in the form of food rations every month.
“I didn’t find anything different in this particular case. I understood that she’s a widow and struggling to make ends meet.
“Even though she’s a widow and sickly, she reached out to some professional organisations for assistance.
“And the positive thing to note in her case is that she wants to do some work and earn money. She doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone.
“She has even enquired if there is a need for a housemaid for two or three days a week.
“The client really wants to be independent and be able to stand on her feet without having to ask others for help.
“She also asked for some vegetable seeds so that she can plant vegetables and sell it to earn some money. This is how determined she is to be an independent woman,” said Ms Philip.
This is just one of the many cases of someone facing mental health problems finding relief after being counselled by the Empower Pacific team.
If you or anyone you know needs counselling, then call the Empower Pacific toll-free counselling helpline 5626, which is supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
I held the first counselling session with her then and gave her some coping mechanism exercises that she can use to help her cope with the stress she was going through. The client came back for the second counselling session on September 7 and she gave me some feedback on how counselling has helped her mental health
– Jessica Philip