Over the past year Marcelina has been an incredible valuable member of the Justlife team. Whilst studying a BSC degree in Counselling Studies at the University of Salford, she did a placement with Justlife from September – May 2013. We are delighted that she has now completed her degree and wish her the very best.This is what Marcelina has to say about her time at Justlife:This year has been an incredible journey at Justlife, I have different memories from my placement which include personal difficulty, excitement lots of learning and enjoyable moments.At the beginning of my placement I found it very challenging because I was lacking really self-confidence. My self-esteem was very low and I did struggle to do some tasks because I was not really sure if I was doing the right thing. Although, I sensed that all the staff and volunteers are very nice and welcoming I was really scared that I may not do well and I will lose my placement. But I can testify that I have had the most exciting time at Justlife, I received love and care from all the staff and volunteers. I had never been judged on my ability but only on my worth as a person.I was pleased to be given the opportunity to help coordinate and lead the women’s workshop and I had a great time doing craft with the women. We had fun and there was always a free and relaxing environment to be able to communicate with one another. I have experienced that the women had more opportunity to talk about personal issue during women’s workshop; which is really important for them.Justlife has impacted on me positively in so many ways. Firstly, I developed my personal and professional confidence at Justlife, which had made a huge change in my life. Secondly, I have learned at Justlife that any little help you render to people can make a significant difference towards their recovery. I have also experienced and witnessed that Justlife does not give up on people regardless their ups and down. Working at Justlife has actually changed my perceptions about how people live their life and can change.So, what’s next for me? I have applied for my postgraduate diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy and will be working alongside this in a part time job. But, I will keep in touch with Justlife and definitely come back to visit.(Pic: Marcelina learning to use a mangle at Clayton Hall on a women's group outing.)
