Margaret, a tenant in her early 60s with a history of depression, was referred to counselling by her housing officer. Margaret had recently moved into a new apartment but struggled to settle and had been neglecting her apartment and herself. Her family became worried about her.

During Margaret’s initial assessment, she explained that she previously lost a tenancy with a different housing association and found the experience to be traumatic. She was feeling reluctant to unpack and didn’t believe she’d be able to stay in her new apartment for very long.

I explored with Margaret the root of her fears, helped her identify the actions both of herself and others that led to the loss of her tenancy, and together, we looked at how her circumstances were different this time, making her experience unlikely to reoccur. Halfway through her sessions, Margaret felt as though she could take some steps to make her new apartment feel more homely.

We worked out a plan with tasks for Margaret to do gradually so she didn’t become too overwhelmed. Each week, Margaret fed back on her progress and came up with a new goal for the next week.

At the end of her block of sessions, Margaret said she was starting to feel settled and had pride in her new home. She was planning to invite an old friend to visit and showcase the progress she had made. She became motivated to focus on her own self-care.

Margaret’s Story is a case study our 24/25 annual report.