Counselling Young People Archives - rainbowcounselling.org.uk

Children’s Mental Health is suffering

Jun 6, 2022 | Counselling Young People

According to the Mental Health Foundation 1 in 6 children are suffering with a mental health condition

Schools qualified counsellors for young people

And according to a survey by Parents Toolkit jointly commissioned with Netmums, 1 in 3 children have experienced a decline in their mental health in the last 6 months.

It’s no surprise then that the mental health of children is something that is on the agenda of many families, schools and society as a whole.

Here at Rainbow we would like to introduce some of our team who are particularly skilled in working with children and/or young people and are currently available: Counsellor Profile: Eleanor Betts >

We have also included a link to a helpful article by BBC’s Bitesize Parents Toolkit on how to help your child when they may be struggling.

For more info please visit our: Counselling for Children and Young People Service page >

Mental Health Awareness: Self harm

Mar 25, 2021 | Counselling Young People, Mental Health Resources

Self harm can often be confused by some with suicidal ideation but although for some individuals there is some crossover, for others self harm is an entirely different thing to wanting to end your life.

Mental Health Awareness: Self harm Some people experience self harm as a way to express overwhelming thoughts and feelings where these are hard to put into words, almost as though the pain is being transferred from emotional to physical pain. For some it is linked to feelings of low self-esteem, for others perhaps it may be a response to trauma for example. But the thoughts and feelings behind self harm are unique to the individual just as different methods of self-harm are varied. Cutting yourself for example is often associated with self harm but more subtle forms of harming your body, such as deliberately getting into fights, may also find their roots in a desire to self harm.

Mind’s website offers some excellent tips for help for self harm including looking at triggers and distraction techniques. Check these out here, and don’t forget that talking about your thoughts and feelings regarding self harm can be incredibly liberating and help to diffuse a sense of shame that can be associated with them. Please feel free to contact Rainbow today if this is something that may be affecting you.

Read more on this related topic from Young Minds Info:
Info about Self Harm Awareness Day and how to get help >

Children’s mental health week and some helpful resources

Feb 3, 2021 | Counselling Young People, Mental Health Resources

Children’s mental health week has been running from 1-7 February 2021

As the consequences of the pandemic and lockdown continue there has never been a more important time to focus on the mental health and wellbeing of our children.

Many children are facing the consequences of school closure, being educated from home, isolation or tragically perhaps bereavement. Not to mention the knock on effect of anxiety and stress they will no doubt be picking up from the media and perhaps those adults who are looking after them.

BACP has drawn together a fantastic collection of resources for anyone with an interest in children’s mental health and we have included a link so you can check it out here. There’s helpful tips for lockdown family life, blogs from school counsellors and young people talking about their mental health.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Rainbow for more information, or support for you or your child, as recovery is most definitely possible!

Uncertain times for children and young people

Sep 11, 2020 | Counselling Young People

There are many reasons for children and young people to be feeling uncertain and anxious at the moment.

Uncertain times for children and young people The routine of school has been disrupted, exam results have caused chaos for school leavers and access to regular support may have been interrupted or delayed. Not to mention the challenge of learning to learn from home without the support of teachers in the same way. And now the sudden return to school following a very long break away.

Counselling can help children and young people through these challenging times and many counsellors have risen to the challenge of offering counselling remotely, whether by video, phone and even text message. Of course face-to-face counselling has had to pause in many settings whilst lockdown measures have been in place.

For more detailed information please see our Counselling for Children and Young People page >

A couple of articles by BACP highlight the challenges children and young people are facing at this time and ways in which counsellors are rising to meet these challenges.

Anticipating a rise in demand for school counselling after Covid-19 closures >

Stressed brains can’t learn >

Specialist Counselling for Children and Young People

Jul 27, 2020 | Counselling Young People

We are often asked at Rainbow if we can help children or young people and so this week we wanted to highlight this service in particular.

Schools qualified counsellors for young people Children and young people may have particular needs that may be different to adults coming to counselling. Some common themes that may crop up in this work include anxiety, anger, fear, bereavement, school problems, self harm, relationships and self esteem to name a few.

Our children’s and young people’s counsellors offer a service tailored specifically to each child or young person. Often this can involve creative methods such as sand tray work or art, as these have been demonstrated to be of particular help to this group, perhaps when talking and words feel too hard to express. But of course each person is unique and your child would be empowered to work in a way that they feel most comfortable with. We have particular experience in the Rainbow team with ways of working with children/young people on the autistic spectrum, and also looked-after children.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch to find out more about what we can offer in this area. Our counsellors working with children/young people – Rachael, Evelyn and Helen – would be only too happy to talk through how they might be able to help.

For more info please visit our: Counselling for Children and Young People Service page >

Should qualified counsellors be available in secondary schools?

Nov 19, 2019 | Counselling Young People

Labour pledges support for young people by offering qualified counsellors in schools

Schools qualified counsellors for young people As part of its manifesto for General Election 2019 the Labour Party has committed to fund a qualified counsellor in every secondary school.

This would provide vital support for young people in terms of early intervention and quicker identification of psychological issues.

The £845m ‘Healthy Young Minds’ programme would fund a total of 3500 counsellors on site in schools.

Martin Bell, deputy Head of Policy and Public Affairs at BACP said: “School counselling is often the only opportunity young people have to access vital support, because they face long waits for NHS services or do not meet the threshold for that care.”