Community Counselling
We are counsellors and psychotherapists that are passionate in supporting children to understand their Mental health. We understand first hand how difficult it has been for our children during lockdown and the anxiety that came with the Pandemic. We appreciate that our teachers are doing an amazing job, but they don’t have the time and resources to dedicate allowing our children time and space to explore how they feel.
We recognise that it is important now more than ever to support children during and after the pandemic and you as parents have done an amazing job of using day to day skills to provide emotional and academic advice and support to your children. For some children this is not enough, and they need more emotional support AND THAT’S OK.
It is important to find a balance between respecting the enormity of how your child is feeling, the sacrifices that they have been asked to make and the losses they have experienced without sensationalising or dwelling on the situation.
If you feel your child is struggling with any of the below, please feel free to reach out and chat to one of our qualified friendly counsellors who can offer you some advice or guidance.
Through ‘creative group work’ we offer your child a safe and secure space to be able to express how they feel, learn to talk about their emotions. We offer this through support, practical advice, strategies and activities.
As qualified counsellors who know the benefits first hand of how important it is to be able to communicate what is needed to feel safe and secure we have set up a Holiday Club and After School club to help children talk about how they feel.
Through Creative Therapy we will focus on different emotional responses.
This is a six week course running for 1.5 hours per session where we will focus on your child’s emotional wellbeing in group work with no more than 12 children per session with 2 fully qualified counsellors. Children are encouraged to meet new people and build new relationships in a safe and secure environment. Children are encouraged to take part in the activities to help build confidence and secure attachments. One of our main focuses will be on bringing ECO THERAPY into the sessions to enable children to reconnect and understand the importance nature brings into our mental wellbeing.
The weeks will focus on
- Recognising the child’s needs and interactions
- Building the child’s self-esteem.
- Helping to improve the child’s communication skills.
- Stimulating healthy, normal development.
- Building an appropriate emotional repertoire.
- Improving the child’s emotional vocabulary
- Child activity for your the child to understand what they learnt in their time at community counselling
Things to keep in Mind
These courses are a not one size will fit all course.
Different children have different needs and experiences of the pandemic and life in general. They will have varying levels of coping skills and resilience in dealing with their experiences. Having an open mind about what the child may be going through, how they are coping with it and what support they need is important to us and by keeping our groups small and by having two qualified counsellors on hand for each session we are able to offer the support and guidance and space for your children to thrive and grow emotionally.
Don’t dismiss concerning behaviour.
For children when something momentous has happened it is important to not see all their behaviour in the same context.
Signs to look out for.
The following are symptoms that may indicate a problem that therapy can correct or help with:
- Unwarranted aggression.
- Incontinence.
- Difficulty adjusting to social situations.
- Frequent nightmare and sleep difficulties.
- A sudden drop in grades at school.
- Persistent worry and anxiety;
- Withdrawing from activities they normally enjoy.
- Loss of appetite or dramatic weight loss/gain.
- Performing obsessive routines like hand washing.
- Expressing thoughts of suicide.
- Talking about voices they hear in their head.
- Social isolation and wanting to be alone.
- Alcohol or drug use.
- Increased physical complaints despite a normal, healthy physician’s report.
In addition to these issues, the child may be dealing with:
- Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
- Constant anger and a tendency to overreact to situations.
- Preoccupation with physical illness or their own appearance.
- An inability to concentrate, think clearly or make decisions.
- An inability to sit still.
- Diets or binging behaviours.