Josh* is 15 and has had to witness years of domestic abuse between his mother and father which has had a hugely damaging effect on his confidence and self-esteem. He suffers from low levels of resilience and struggles to form relationships with others, resulting in him becoming extremely withdrawn and increasingly isolated.
His education was also beginning to suffer and his immediate family were becoming increasingly concerned for his welfare. Josh was referred to Nest and started to form a good relationship with his support worker. Together they devised a plan to help him move forward.
Along with some quite intensive one-to-one contact and support, looking at building Josh’s confidence and improving his own self-image, Josh’s support worker also referred him to a number of local groups for additional support and activities.
One of these was a local theatre group. Josh was initially very reluctant to attend but after a great deal of reassurance from the key worker he agreed to go. The key worker accompanied Josh to the first meeting and he got on well with other people there, and really enjoyed himself. After that first session Josh told us how much he had enjoyed the group and how he was glad he had gone.
However, the following week he was even more reluctant to attend the second session but after speaking with his support worker he decided to go. Again, following this session Josh told us how pleased he was that he had gone.
Josh continues to work with us to build his confidence, which both he and his mother feel has improved with our support. We will keep working together to help Josh get to where he wants to be.
*We have changed names on all of our case studies to protect identities
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