Jesse Donoghue opens the door to a room filled with more than 50 artists. She walks up to the platform, drops her robe and holds her pose. This is the first time Jesse has life modelled. She had recently separated from her abusive partner through the domestic violence court process and had suffered from an eating disorder.

“I was feeling really unable to find direction, motivation, confidence, strength and all of those things at the same time,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of people who experience domestic violence who can emotionally identify with that. It doesn’t just take away your power, in one sense, it takes away your identity, it really affects what you think about yourself, so I was in a really bad place. I had an eating disorder from the age of 15, so I had a lot of body image issues… I felt like there was a war going on between me and my body.”

In that moment, when Jesse holds her naked body in a powerful pose for a room filled with strangers, she feels peace. “I was very nervous to start with and instead of suppressing that emotion through the whole experience, I tried to use it, accept it and work with it,” she said. “I actually ended up feeling quite calm once the peak of anxiety really passed and I was starting to feel quite positive about it. That was an absolute surprise to me.”

Jesse had tried multiple forms of therapy including counsellors and psychologists, but until life modelling, she had never felt any lasting benefits. “I was able to go round and look at the artworks that were being produced by the artists,” she said. “The first thought in my head was ‘oh wow, that is beautiful’, and the second thought in my head was ‘that’s you’. Combining the concept of beautiful and me in the same sentence was just something I’d never done before; it fundamentally changed what I thought was possible about my body.”

Bobby-Leah Napier had also suffered from mental health issues and domestic violence. Bobby has been life modelling for 12 years and said her coincidental meeting with Jesse sparked the birth of the program Sketch Marks. “We met each other in a very beautiful, serendipitous way. We went for coffee but we ended up having cocktails,” Bobby said. “We clinked our glasses, Sketch Marks was born and we’ve both just been as committed and dedicated to it ever since.”

Sketch Marks is a four-week self-development program for women involving weekly meet ups and skype call check-ins. Participants are given exercises to complete during the week and are kept accountable. At the end of each program a graduation night, debut drawing session, photo shoot and celebration breakfast are held. Bobby and Jesse have seen incredible results from their pilot program. A psychologist, counsellor and GP are embedded in the program to ensure all of the women are adequately supported.

If you or someone you care about needs support, please contact Lifeline on 131114