Lewie's Story

Lewie is 14. Lewie witnessed a violent crime that resulted in the death of his friend.

In the months after the incident he often appeared tired and distant in school. Despite being offered CAMHS support and counselling he refused these options. At school his attendance was poor, as was his engagement. He was often short-tempered in communications with teachers and angry and aggressive with peers. He displayed a poor attitude to discipline.

Due to the violent incident there were also concerns regarding outside school influence, peer groupings and possible gang associations. We offered our support to Lewie. He agreed to ‘give us a go’ for one session and engaged with us. Within two sessions we were directly addressing issues around his frequently disrupted sleep patterns that included disturbing imagery and worrisome thoughts.

In week 3 Lewie told us he was no longer experiencing the same feelings of panic and anxiety as he was before he began the sessions with us. He has started sharing and discussing some situations in his life that he has previously struggled to acknowledge or communicate.