Emilie Delmotte came to work at the La Louvière shelter for battered women in 2007. Although cross-trained like all her teammates, she primarily provides psychological support to the residents. With her training in narrative therapy, in particular, she counsels the women during their sessions (at least once a week), helping them to externalize their emotions and problems and to fully realize the abnormality of what they went through. Most of the counseled women are extremely fragile psychologically and have experienced multiple periods of hardship in their lives. They are often submersed by feelings of shame and guilt, the products of years of disparagement, control, humiliation and isolation, imposed by a manipulative partner.
Here, Emilie Delmotte talks with C. in the “emotions room”, dedicated to these sessions. The meeting was requested by C. – the victim of severe physical abuse by her partner, whom she left to come to the shelter shortly after the birth of their child – who felt like she was “at the end of her rope.” After her stay, the pattern of constant harassment by her ex began again, along with extreme threats, compelling C. to return to the shelter on multiple occasions.
December 10, 2010 – La Louvière – Belgium.
© Pierre-Yves GINET