Grace to Restore: A Place of Calm
1st August 2023
Written by Olivia Fretwell, Assistant Psychologist.
Grace to Restore is a small, yet rapidly growing charity, offering a safe space to be heard, supported and helped through emotionally challenging times. This service is aimed at young women aged 18-25 with some support available for girls aged 14-17. Grace to Restore is built on the principles of unconditional positive regard, shared understanding, and hope, as they create an environment which is a “place of calm in a hectic world”.
Grace to Restore offers a range of services, but their primary service is currently a 1:1 listening service. Offering connection, a safe place to express current difficulties, and have open, honest, realistic conversations. This 1:1 support offers a sounding board where they can be heard and their feelings validated. Knowing that someone is there to listen is fundamental to feeling able to express emotions and not everyone is able to speak with family or friends.
This 1:1 support can explore feelings of hopelessness and even thoughts of not wanting to be around anymore. Engaging in this narrative and asking someone directly whether they are experiencing suicidal thoughts will not make them more suicidal, but it provides an opportunity to express how they are feeling and allow for support to be put in place, by the appropriate mental health services.
Some individuals may not wish to share their emotions with friends or family, for fear of burdening them, or worrying how it will impact their loved ones; this makes having compassionate and professional support from Grace to Restore even more critical. Where appropriate, a safety plan can be made. This is a short-term crisis intervention, which involves collaboration between the professional and the individual, to establish ways for the individual to cope with an onset of crisis i.e., when they experience overwhelming thoughts about harming themself, or taking their own life. Please see the end of this blog for an example of a Safety Plan.
In terms of other service provision, Grace to Restore are offering several Summer Workshops in the school holidays.. These workshops will provide psychoeducation as well as encouraging healthy conversations t
o be had amongst peers. Modelling these healthy conversations from a young age shows acceptance and compassion for each other, supporting each other to feel comfortable sharing emotions. These workshops will target real positive change, not only as it aims to reduce the risk of poor mental health later in life, but also provides therapeutic benefits for individuals dealing with difficult situations during their school life.
Grace to Restore have a small Hub that they operate from in PO1 and are looking to expand to a larger premises in the Autumn.This new, larger space will allow them to run therapeutic support groups in addition to their other services, offering a friendly, safe and environment for individuals to make connections with those who are going through similar experiences – this shared understanding and lived experience is crucial to build a sense of connectedness and community.
This is an exciting time for Grace to Restore as they are growing in terms of services and reach, providing an incredibly valuable service, built on the foundations of empathy, lived experience and hope.
For more information, please visit their website here: https://gracetorestore.org
Safety Planning: Example (Stanley and Brown, 2012; O’Connor, 2021).
STEP 1: Warning signs for onset of crisis (thoughts, images, mood, situation, behaviour).
1) e.g., the thought: “I am completely useless.”
2) e.g., feeling: hopeless, trapped, numb.
3) e.g., behaviour: withdrawing, self-neglect, self-isolation.
STEP 2: Internal Coping Strategies.
1) e.g., listening to my favourite music.
2) e.g., watching TV.
3) e.g., drawing.
STEP 3: People and social settings which provide distractions.
1) e.g., being around family/friends.
2) e.g., visiting the library.
3) e.g., going to a place of worship.
STEP 4: People who I can ask for help – someone who I trust and is a safe place.
1) e.g., friend.
2) e.g., work colleague.
3) e.g., sibling.
STEP 5: Professionals/Organisations I can contact during a crisis.
1) e.g., crisis helpline – SHOUT, Samaritans, 111, Emergency services.
2) e.g., GP.
3) e.g., social worker.
STEP 6: Making the environment safe – needs to be done in agreement and collaboratively.
1) e.g., removal of large quantities of prescription drugs.
2) e.g., store medication in a locked box.
3) e.g., take a different route home to avoid the area of concern.