A few weeks ago, Sarah* brought her, 13 year old, daughter Lucy* to Brain Wellness Spa after she was diagnosed with ‘school refusal’. School refusal is when a child refuses to attend school due to emotional distress. It is not the same as being truant – children with school refusal often wish to attend school, but feel mentally incapable. This was the case with Lucy.
Lucy is a popular year 8 student who in general enjoys school, seeing her friends and going to class. However, over the past year her school refusal has been acting up and it seemed as soon as Lucy seemed to be warming up to school, the school refusal would kick in again and she would be back at home.
Unfortunately for Lucy, this now means she is being home schooled for the term- even though she desperately wants to back at school with her friends. At this stage, simply driving past the school was enough to give Lucy clammy hands and an anxious response.
Another issue for Lucy was sleeping alone at night, likely related to some childhood traumas. After only 2 sessions of the Emotional Empowerment Program at Brain Wellness Spa, Lucy was sleeping in her own bed each night without the overwhelming nervous feeling she had previously felt.
This was a great sign; it meant Lucy was starting to let go of nervous attachments within her unconscious mind. These are likely the same nervous attachments that have stopped her from attending class.
After 3 sessions (4 weeks), Lucy’s stress, anxiety and worry had all dropped by at least 40 – 50 per cent. Lucy recognised she was feeling more confident and less nervous in her day to day life.
Last week was Lucy’s 6th week in the program, and I received a text message from Sarah telling me that Lucy and herself had driven to the school twice in one week. Lucy sat in the car with her mum and while she was a little worried that people may see her, her nervous behaviours weren’t activated – no rubbing hangs together, no clammy palms or stressed breathing; huge improvements for someone who only a few weeks ago was in panic at the thought of being near the building at all.
Slowly Sarah will continue to introduce Lucy back to school surroundings, and myself, Sarah and Lucy are confident that the Emotional Empowerment Program is just what she needs to get over that last hump. We’ve also discussed incorporating some confidence and self esteem programs from the Spa Menu to help her even further.
At this stage, I truly believe Lucy will be back at school with her friends for next term. The Emotional Empowerment program produces amazing results with regard to helping people overcome their fears and start living their lives at their full potential.
‘School refusal is an awful thing to watch your child go through and I am so grateful I came across the Brain Wellness Spa when googling ways to help anxiety. We had tried a few other things with various results.
There is definitely a change in her nervousness and anxiety around school now and it is all positive.’
Sarah, Lucy’s Mum
Claire – 27 Years Old
Claire*, aged 27, started coming to Brain Wellness Spa when her parents went through a separation. She was struggling with anxiety and failing to accept the fact that her father had met another woman and was leaving her mother.
Although Claire had maintained a strong relationship with her father throughout the separation, she was still feeling as though her brain was resistant to accepting the new reality.
Claire completed the Emotional Empowerment Program and Acing Acceptance and attributes the fact that her relationship with her parents has been unhindered by the separation to her work with Brain Wellness Spa.
** Names have been changed for confidentiality
‘I would always love my Dad, no matter what. However, this program, in particular Acing Acceptance from the spa menu, has helped me detach from him cheating on my mum and in turn has helped me move on quicker and focus on maintaining a happy and genuine relationship with my dad.’
Claire