James' story

43 year old James is a dad of one from Hackney and works in a school. He came to James’ Place London earlier this year for help after finding himself in suicidal crisis triggered by flashbacks from childhood and racial trauma. He went to see his GP for help who told him the wait for NHS Talking Therapies was 8-12 months and suggested contacting James’ Place.

He said: “I found myself in crisis earlier this year. I had been really struggling with things that happened to me in my childhood, I was having flashbacks, waking up crying, snapping at my son and had fallen into a rut. Work was my safe space to get away from my trauma and leave everything at the gate as soon as I walked through but with work stress and anxiety, work was not a safe space either for me and it made me go into a deep hole of having no where to go and escape my mind and thoughts. I had started thinking of ways I could end my life to escape these thoughts I was having, and one day I found myself by the river. I was scared of what I might do and I knew I needed help. I went to the GP and he told me about James’ Place.

I didn’t know what to expect but when I arrived I was pleased to see men from all different backgrounds and cultures in the waiting room, that instantly put me at ease and was very reassuring, that all kinds of men can be suicidal. My therapist was great, she was non-judgemental, she tailored the therapy to me and really listened to what I said, she gave me lots of practical ways to help myself, she helped change the way I looked at things. I have asked for help a lot in my life, and never really found it until I came to James’ Place. I don’t know if I would still be here without going to James’ Place, it was exactly the right help I needed at the right time and it saved me.”

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