Psychotherapy for young people
It is a gift to be able to work with young people, who are sharing their thoughts and feelings with me and attempting to make sense of the world they experience. I work with young people on the issues that they bring. At a pace that they determine, acknowledging their competence and strengths. I work with sensitivity, care and thoughtfulness to engage young people in a way that makes talking therapy accessible for them.
Sometimes I work with a young person using creative materials, such as drawing, art material or psycho-education tools to explain concepts to them about the brain or how the body works.
I am experienced in working with children and adolescents who are:
- Worried (anxious)
- Depressed
- Have experienced a trauma, such as, bullying, parental loss, a car accident, or unprocessed historical trauma
- Are needing to develop their confidence and sense of well-being, (self-esteem)
- Are experiencing temporary difficulties, such as self-injury, or repetitive behaviour, exam stress
- Difficulties experience following parental separation (divorce, contact arrangements).
- Or with young people who have a neuro-developmental diagnosis (Autism, ADHD).
A key philosophy of my work is to encourage:
- Self- understanding and awareness
- Understand thoughts, feelings and beliefs and how they influence thinking and actions
- Renew hope, develop confidence and self-belief
Working with a psychotherapist from an early age, helps young people to develop good self-care skills and tools to manage the world that enables them to feel confident and happy in their future.
Practical information
Booking a consultation is the beginning stage of a young person thinking about working with me. It allows for us to explore what they would like to work on. It allows me to be clear with the young person and their main carer about roles and responsibilities in working together. It allows me to establish that a young person can engage with and make use of working with me. This makes it a safe, containing and helpful space to come to.
Sessions durations are individualised, as sometimes we need to be flexible about what works best for a particular young person in regard to concentration and time. The duration of sessions will not exceed fifty-minutes. I work with young people from the age of 9 upwards, when only attending individually.
A conversation about the needs of a young person can be particularly useful in considering whether psychotherapy might be helpful. Often this can be reassuring and supportive for the parents. I encourage parents and carers, or professionals to contact me for an initial twenty-minute phone consultation, which is free.
