Information for young people:

 

Do you feel like you are feeling overwhelmed with feelings at the moment?

Do you have negative thoughts in your head?

Is something bothering you or worrying you at the moment?

Do you feel like you can't cope with every day tasks and activities? 

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​What is counselling ?

If you are feeling any of the above it may mean that you need some extra support. Counselling is a safe meeting that we have together, where you have a space to explore what ever you want to bring to the session; your thoughts, feelings or experiences. This could include something that is bothering or worrying you, something that you are not happy with at the moment that you would like to explore or change, an experience you have had or just a person to talk to that is outside of family or friends.

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What would I talk about?

Nothing that we discuss is out of bounds, right or wrong. There is nothing too weird or stupid you could say.

Talking about things that are difficult can be tough. On our first session we will chat about whats going on for you at the moment and get to know each other and then you can decide if you would like to continue or not.

 

What will I get from it? 

You may feel that you just need someone to talk to, would like strategies to help you cope better or would like to know why you think or feel certain things. Talking about things can be difficult, sometimes we think that if we just ignore it, or get on with things it will go away. This isn't always the case, and keeping things in a box can lead to anger, irritability and usually doesn't help in the long run. Getting things off your chest can feel relieving, in our sessions we will try to make sense of these feelings, and work out how to manage them. 

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I'm scared to talk about how I'm feeling...

And thats okay...it will take time for us to get to know each other and for you to feel comfortable to share and be vulnerable. If you prefer to not talk as much, that's okay too. I offer a range of different ways we can explore what is going on for you, such as painting, drawing, emotion cards and sand therapy. We can play games if this also feels too much. There is no pressure to talk about things you don't want to, we can go at your own pace. There are many ways that we can work together in the sessions, and we can do this in the best way that helps you. 

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I've tried everything and nothing works....

Counselling is not an overnight fix. It may take time for you to feel like things are getting better, and sometimes things can feel worse before it starts to improve. Counselling requires mental effort inside and outside of the sessions, you have to want to engage and for things to get better for yourself, not anyone else. 

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Will you tell my parents/carers about what I discuss?

Our conversations will be stay between us, however there may be times where I have to share information if we discuss things that are unsafe. For example, if you have harmed yourself or others, have been harmed by someone else. If this information is already known to your parent and carer then we can discuss this in detail without the need for passing this information back again. If something new happens, we can discuss this in our sessions about how to approach this with them. I will always discuss the issue with you first, and I am happy to help communicate any discussions that may be hard. Every 6 sessions or so, we will have a review with your parent/carer but we will discuss together what this will be like first.

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What will you do in the sessions?

My hope is that you will feel listened to and understood, and we can try and understand and explore whats going on for you at the moment, and try move forward together. Depending on how you like to be supported, I may ask questions, ask us to do some activities together to explore feelings or thoughts, I may challenge your thoughts/beliefs to think about looking at things in a different perspective, or do something creative. 

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Information for parents:

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My aim is to support your child in exploring their thoughts and feelings, understand why they are feeling a certain way and support them in building resilience, emotional awareness, growth mindset and positive self-talk. 

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Having worked in schools for the past 6 years as a counsellor, I have vast experience with working with children and young people, including those who are neurodivergent or have significant behavioural difficulties. 

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I offer an introductory phone call to discuss the reasons your child needs support and if I am able to help. I am committed in helping your child find a way through and supporting them to pinpoint and unpick the issues they are experiencing. From then we can arrange an assessment with you and your child, or separate meetings, which ever you feel is best. 

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It’s important that your child is able to feel comfortable with me, and establishing a relationship is key to this. I would recommend starting with weekly sessions, building a comfortable relationship so that your child feels safe to share is dependant on us that we are able to work on . Having longer breaks between sessions makes it more difficult to pick up after the last session and a regular and consistent chunk of work can be much more beneficial. Once our relationship is established, moving to fortnightly sessions can be considered. If for some reason consistent sessions are not possible, then I would suggest a block session of 6 meetings, have a break and then return if required.

 

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