Celina

I am posting this with permission from my client. My program, N*COMMON, is being featured in our company newsletter this month. As a part of our article, we're featuring Celina's success story. She was one of my very first clients; we worked together for over two years. This is a picture of her in our therapy room. She wore a leather jacket and lipstick just for the occasion. Here's the excerpt from the newsletter. (It's meant to sell the program so forgive the slightly cheesy tone.)

"Through her interaction with N*COMMON, Celina has steadily healed and found new hope in her life. Her husband left El Salvador and came to the United States to support the family, including their four children. When he stopped sending money, Celina was desperate to care for her family. She left El Salvador, where she grew up, and moved without her children to the U.S. to try to find work herself. She moved back in with her husband even though he'd been abusive from early on in their marriage. He continued the abuse, to the point that she feared for her life, and she found the courage to leave him.

"Feeling very alone and having become depressed, Celina started treatment with N*COMMON. Work with her therapist (that's me! :) ) began with helping her become stable, both emotionally and in her daily life. Emotional support helped lift her from the worst of her depression. She and her therapist focused on helping her cope with her feelings and manage the stress in her life. They then moved to processing the pain and grief she endured with her husband and in separating from her children. Celina began to understand her feelings and to work through them. As she discussed domestic violence in depth with her counselor, Celina stopped blaming herself and gained confidence. She began to leave the house more often and to engage in positive activities like English classes and exercise. Assertiveness and communication skills helped Celina manage the daily stressors of work and relationships. Now, Celina says, life’s ups and downs affect her less. When she meets a challenge, she problem-solves and bounces back quickly. She finds hope in her life, in telling her story and in sharing with others – Celina is now an inspiration to many!"

Hehe! She totally is. She was really excited to share her story.