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Author: Cecilia (Pseudonym) Date: April 2025 From the last nerve-wrecking hours in a New Orleans hotel room with him, the image that has vividly remained with me is that of the young policewoman who was waiting for me downstairs when the old, clanky elevator doors opened. She was on her way to my room, after the guest had heard my cries for help and had called for police enforcement. “Help, my husband is verbally and physically assaulting me”, I panted as soon as I saw her.

In 2024, I launched a six-month partial pro-bono bereavement counseling project dedicated to supporting those deeply grieving the loss of...

Author: Xiaojie Qin Psychotherapist, Director of CandleX Time: Aug 2023 Over the past year, I have found myself getting more and more...

September 2022, China Development Brief featured Project A for their work in providing affordable therapy to survivors of abusive relationships in Beijing. Accessing affordable mental health support in China can be a challenge to both locals and foreigners alike. For survivors of abusive relationships, it can be especially difficult to find suitable spaces for therapy and healing. As founders, Megan Purvis and Qin Xiaojie discuss the inspiration behind Project A, the unique w

From March to April 2022, Project A (independent of CandleX) held its second round of in-person group therapy for women who were in abusive relationships. In this round, group therapy lasted 6 weeks. Each session was 2 hours long, meaning participants spent a total of 12 hours together in the sessions. In addition, each participant was offered the chance to have supplemental individual sessions with the therapist. The therapy was led by Xiaojie Qin, a certified psychotherapis

Please note: this project was an initiative by Xiaojie and Megan as individuals, and was not a service provided by CandleX. In Beijing, there has always been an unmet need to support women in the international community who were in abusive relationships. Survivors are usually invisible due to the shame, and affordable professional support almost does not exist due to the scarce resources and high costs. Abusive relationships can exist in the form of domestic violence, intimat