Youth Counselling & Parent Coaching

Are you aged between 12 – 17 and struggling to cope, feel isolated or lonely and find it hard to express your emotions? In today’s society, the pressures on the youth are unprecedented and can seem too heavy for all the family to carry alone. If you or your child are struggling, then reach out for help.

Working as a creative youth counsellor, being a mother to two sons, and a home educator, I understand the daily battles the youth fight. I offer a safe, impartial space to speak freely and at your own pace and style. I also offer conscious parenting tips, that improves communication and bond between all families, through my add-on or stand-alone coaching option.

When you feel sad, you can come to me
I’ll listen
I’ll never turn you away
I hear you,
Even when you don’t have
The words to say
By Abbie Wiggins in her book “Anchor”

What do I offer?

BACP approved professional member

Online or face-to-face sessions for ages 12-17

25 mins FREE consultation for your young adult

Tailed, integrated child-led programme for short- or long-term

Option to monitor progress and effective outcomes

Financial discounts and block bookings available

Option of parent ‘coaching’ alongside your child’s healing

Special needs trained (neurodiverse awareness and sensitivity)

What are the benefits?

Enhanced confidence and self-esteem

Achieve greater focus & concentration

Feeling less overwhelmed, more emotionally regulated

Feeling empowered through knowledge and coping strategies tools

Improved communication skills and boundaries

Calmer in social situations and conflict management skills

Stronger self of self and identity

More effective social skills and connections with others

Parent Coaching

If you are a struggling parent and need some conscious parenting tips and support, then this service is for you. It is open to all parents, offered as individual 30 minute or 1-hour sessions or in addition to your child’s therapy sessions, working in a solution-focused approach to bring the family closer together again.

No parent thinks, “I wonder what I can to today to undermine my children, subvert their effort, turn them off learning, and limit their achievement, of course not. They think “I would do anything, give anything, to make my children successful” Yet many of the things they do boomerang. Their helpful judgments, their lessons their motivating techniques often send the wrong message.
Page 176 – Dweck (2017) Mindset: changing the way you think to fulfil your potential

If you are interested to know more, go to the FAQ section or give it a try and book for a free 25-minute consultation. Proof needs to be provided of being the parent or main carer for any young adult signing up to counselling.

FAQs

Can you counsel my son/daughter if they have special needs (ASD/ADHD for example)?

Yes, I am trained and sensitive to all children who have special needs and I acknowledge and adapt all my sessions in accordance with their learning style and personality. I will ensure they gain validation and support and they are free to talk openly about their diagnosis or suspected undiagnosed symptoms. I am not trained to professionally diagnose any client myself. This is done via their GP who will refer them on via the NHS to gain further testing.

What kind of issues do you deal with in adolescents?

Clients are referred to me for many reasons. Sometimes they are struggling with their identity or cultural pressures and feel isolated and ‘different’. Some experience depression or anxiety, others feel suicidal and deeply lonely. Sometimes it’s about school and home pressures, feeling different or being bullied at school or home. I have also had young adults who need an outlet because their parents have separated or divorced and need to find meaning in these endings.

These are some of the many reasons that adolescents come to me for counselling. There will be many more not mentioned here. I deal with all issues and work sensitively with difference and diversity and tailor all sessions to the needs of each unique child.

Can I refer myself directly as a teenager?

If you are below the legal age of 18, then you are required by law to have a legal guardian, carer or parent who is responsible for you. They will be part of your journey to aid your recovery as they agree to the financial terms of the counselling. But the actual counselling sessions themselves are confidential and are not discussed with your legal guardian. These are private between me (your counsellor) and you and will always be with your best interest in mind. Please also see FAQ on main services page for more information on confidentiality and limitations.

Why do you offer parent coaching as part of your service?

I offer parents the right to be part of their child’s journey because often I see that the parents are left in the dark, whilst their child receives therapy and they don’t always know if it is helping or how to initiate conversation about their progress or improvements.

Whilst I am not permitted to discuss the actual sessions with the parents (unless with consent by the child), as these are confidential (unless there is a direct risk of harm to the child or threat of harm to others), I am permitted to guide the parent to find productive ways to bond with their child, through better communication and evidence-based conscious parenting advice and guidance that seeks to re-connect parent and child in a gentle and loving manner to ensure everyone feels supported and validated in the process.

I find this offers the most successful therapeutic environment for change when everyone feels they are part of that journey of growth and has space to talk and make active changes that are realistic and relevant to each family.

How many sessions do you recommend?

This is impossible to answer. However generally, as long as my client is willing and engaged in the process, I begin to see improvements from about 10 – 20 sessions onwards. It can, however, take longer for adolescents to build trust and open up and we work together to find creative ways to express and understand emotions. Each case is unique and each child is special and needs nurturing and a safe environment to open up.

What theories and interventions do you work with for youth counselling?

I work with CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and SFT (Solution Focused Therapy) a lot. Mainly because this allows clients to reframe some of their negative automatic thoughts which lead to depression and anxiety in my young adult clients. This allows us to work positively without focusing on negative past aspects. However, if clients have experienced trauma, then I will work with them deeper, looking at using drawing and journaling to express their feelings and discussing their unconscious behaviours that may have come from past childhood aspects that affect their confidence, identity, and self-esteem. It depends how self-aware or willing the clients are during the process.

I also always integrate into every session, Carl Roger’s Person-Centred Approach because this offers the gentlest ways to build trust and safety for the client, where they will not be judged, directed, or pushed in any one direction, but led by their own sense of self and ensuring they can go at a pace that suits them. Whatever intervention (s) that are used, the most important aspect is the relationship itself; between therapist and client and creating an environment that promotes safety and peace for the child to speak freely, feel heard, validated and respected and most importantly, that they feel understood.

Get Started Now

Set up your free initial assessment using the book button or visit our contact page if you’d prefer to have a chat with us first

Take your first step in counselling

Do you suffer with panic attacks or anxiety as a result of abuse?

Are you a parent who feels overwhelmed in how help your teenager?

Are you seeking a sensitive female counsellor, who understands the importance of cultural identity?

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