helpful to the client. The “safe space” of a therapeutic group provides a useful bridge between the therapy room and the world outside for people who have progressed sufficiently to be able to talk about their experiences with others who share similar experiences, but who are not quite ready to form relationships with others more generally. This peerto-peer support often develops over time, and is continued outside of the group setting. “Group therapy members have two significant common denominators. They share a background of persecution, whether from state torture, trafficking or other interpersonal violence, and they also share the life task of coming to terms with a future far from home. As they are at different stages of this experience, they are able to learn a lot from each other. “A major change that we observe is clients’ realization, through interaction with the group, that they are not to blame for what has happened to them. People who have experienced inter-personal violence always have high levels of shame and some of our clients are shunned by their families and communities. “When group members observe one another relating similar kinds of traumatic experience, they come to understand that the range of psychological and somatic symptoms that they suffer are ‘normal’ responses to very abnormal circumstances. It is at this stage, when they come to feel accepted by others, that we begin to see them not only sharing their problems and difficulties, but also their aspirations, their creativity and their humour.” Jane Taylor HBF psychotherapist Mark Fish psychotherapist at HBF and Room to Heal 122, an organization which works closely with HBF Group activities and classes bridge the first stages of integration into the wider world through which clients can meet and work together on practical skills and creative activities. This is a positive step in breaking their isolation which can create the confidence to explore external opportunities and activities for themselves. The Creative Arts Programme and activities offered for clients at HBF are often a key part of the therapeutic process, and can be a turning point in the 110 path to recovery, as they offer an opportunity for clients to realize their potential and capacity for social expression.123 A man in group therapy at Room to Heal describing the group to a new member “On Wednesdays we come to the support group and have a good cry, and on Fridays we go to the garden, cook and eat together, tell stories and have a good laugh.” As self-sufficiency builds, therapy may become less frequent or clients may choose to leave it altogether, but the door at HBF is always open to them. They know they can return for further support should this become necessary at any time. Some victims of trafficking go on to obtain education and skills, forge positive relationships with others, and when and if they are able to, seek employment. However, HBF views entry into education or the workplace as another stepping stone and not “the end of the story”. The desire to succeed and prove their abilities is frequently a driving force for clients we work with, but they may require therapeutic support at certain times which assists them individually to manage their changing lives, external stresses, their expectations and circumstances.