What is adolescent counselling?
Adolescent counselling can help your child/ teenager/ young adult have a regular safe and trusting space to talk or do some fun activities with a new friend to learn about their feelings, to help them work out what is going on for them. There could be a variety of different reasons children / young people feel or behave the way they do. It could be that they are having problems within the family environment or dynamic, having problems with making or keeping friendships, perhaps they are being bullied, have gone through some life changes such as changing schools, having to make new friends, parents splitting up, not seeing a parent as much as they’d like, or someone close to them has left or passed away.
In counselling we aim to explore what’s been happening, how that might feel and gain skills to be able to learn to cope with these problems, understand their feelings and actions better and how these might be affecting their relationships with you or friends, learn about what they want and need, and learn how to improve these to create emotional stability in all areas of their life.
My experience of counselling teens and young people has been gained from providing counselling to:
- YMCA Norfolk’s Wellbeing Matters Youth Mental Health Service bridging project to prevent referral to CAMHS – Primary and secondary school settings
- YMCA Norfolk – counselling disadvantaged young people who are at a point of crisis in their lives
- St Edmund’s Society alternative learning environment – counselling young people with few or no qualifications and who have experienced problems in life and the traditional education system
- NHS IAPT Service – counselling young people aged 16+ years presenting with depression.
How I work with young people
I work alongside your child/ teenager / young adult to teach problem solving and coping skills.
As a parent or care giver, you are welcome to come to sessions with your child/ teenager/ young adult, the first time or first two times if you like or your child/teenager can come to the session by themselves if they prefer. You can stay in the waiting area the entire session and wait for your child/ teenager/ young adult. At the end of the session, there might be some tasks for you both to try in between sessions, so we’ll meet again to talk through these if your child doesn’t mind.
How I deliver adolescent therapy
Long-term face-to-face work, short-term face-to-face work, or online counselling via video call.
I use a mix of therapeutic models to suit each individual young person, this could include talking therapy, some creative therapy or could include a more structured approach using Interpersonal Therapy, elements of CBT, and psycho-education to help your child or young person explore their worries and help work out what is going on for them, without shaming or blaming, and help them manage stress and difficult feelings, whilst boosting self-esteem and confidence.
How long do sessions last?
All sessions last 50 minutes each and take place at the same time and place each week.
Your child / young person can have as little or as many sessions as they need. Generally, a minimum of 6 sessions work well, which would take place weekly, to allow some time to build rapport and trust, and can be extended if they feel they need more.
What I can help with
- Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Anger
- Anxiety and stress
- Attachment concerns
- Bereavement and loss
- Conflict resolution
- Contact difficulties
- Depression
- Divorce and family breakdown
- Emotional regulation
- Family illness
- Family separation or divorce
- Identity / Self-esteem
- Friendship difficulties or family relationship difficulties
- Trauma
Is counselling confidential?
Everything is confidential, unless your child/ teenager/ young adult wishes for you to be in the session or wants to share with a parent or care giver.
There are reasons when confidentiality may be required to be broken, for example:
- Crime, terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, child protection, allegations of rape or sexual abuse
- Prevention of serious harm to the self or to others
- If there is a risk of suicide or serious self-harm
How much does counselling cost?
Complimentary 15-min exploratory video call session to find out more about your needs and how I can help you.
Further sessions via video call online or telephone £55 per 50-min session or if you block book 6+ consecutive weekly sessions £50. For face-to-face sessions, please add £15 per session (Norwich NR3 and NR7 dependant on room availability)
The start of a counselling relationship, just like any new relationship can feel scary, especially for a child entering an environment they’re not familiar with. Having a few of your questions about the process answered prior to a first session lessens the amount of ‘unknowns’ for everyone involved. That’s why I offer a complimentary 15-minute consultation – If you’d like to sign up for a FREE 15-min exploratory session, simply complete the form below – please ensure you leave a telephone contact number. Our first session will be an assessment session, where we will explore what your child / young person might get out of counselling, we might set a focus for our work together and discuss how we might work best together.