beneficiary of the Individual Counselling & Psychotherapy Service,

Athens Solidarity Center

Young M. comes from one of the poorest countries in western Africa. Last summer she visited the organization’s Solidarity Center in Athens for the first time, following the referral by a non-governmental organization that SolidarityNow cooperates with.

Μ. asked for help from the Center’s Counselling & Psychotherapy Service, showing symptoms of post-traumatic anxiety and intense worry.

Why; Because of a sequence of events that she managed eventually to share, after the time it took her to overcome an awkward fear, evident from the first moment. It was clear to the Center’s psychologist that M., while initially unable to share details and moments of her personal history, from the few she was saying but mainly from her non-verbal communication, she greatly sought support.

During her meetings, M.’s developed mental resilience emerged despite her highly traumatic life. M. worked intensively, in collaboration with the expert of the Psychotherapy Service, to strengthen her personality by focusing on here and now – which meant improving her living conditions, as for M. this was a very painful part of her personal narrative.

The positive results of this effort did not take long, and M.’s daily routine changed significantly for the better.

M., started claiming her life from scratch; a legitimate life in which she has an identity, travel documents, access to work. In this endeavour, she won and surpassed what she herself expected. Today, she lives in the house she rented in the center of Athens and with the support of the Solidarity Center’s Employability Service she managed to find work and be able to rely on her strength.

She is no longer the frightened M., as she was in the beginning, but a woman who has managed to bring out many healthy pieces of her personality.

*Μ. is one of the beneficiaries receiving pro bono services provided to vulnerable population groups (Greeks, refugees and migrants) in the SolidarityNow Athens Solidarity Center. Find more about the Athens Solidarity Center: https://www.solidaritynow.org/en/kentro-allileggiis-athinas/.