MESSAGE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

You can call me Beth. I'm a Counsellor in Market Harborough who loves working with Children and Young People. You can check out my qualifications on the About Me page but I'm guessing you're more concerned about what kind of person you, your parent or carer is hoping you'll come to see!

I'm not judgemental and will accept you exactly as you are. I'm calm and kind and a good listener. I've been counselling young people for over three years and I love finding out what makes you uniquely YOU, working with you to achieve whatever it is that brings you to counselling. I'm not going to tell you what to do or hand out advice. I believe in YOUR ability to work through what's best for you. You're the expert on you after all! What I will do is listen, support, care and challenge you where needed to help you get to the place you want to be.

There's no short answer to this. The way I work is called "person-centred" counselling which means you and your needs are at the heart of it. We will work TOGETHER to help you fulfil those needs. That might be finding a solution to a specific problem, finding ways to manage difficult feelings such as anger, grief, low mood, anxiety or simply giving you the space to explore your feelings and experiences. Every client is indvidual and I work with the issues and feelings that matter to YOU.

Not with me you don't! It would be nice if you gave me and counselling a chance before deciding but - and this is important! - if you really don't want to do counselling, I am certainly not going to make you. And I promise I won't take it personally! Counselling works when the client wants to be there. If they don't, it would not be right to continue. I can help you explain that to your parent/carer if you want me to. 

If you do decide against counselling now, that does not mean you can't change your mind and come back later on. We have to be in the right headspace  to get the most from counselling and that can change over time.

If you do come for counselling but decide it's not for you at any stage or you just want to finish, that's fine too. It's often helpful to have an "ending" final session but as always, I will be guided by YOUR preference.

When we first meet, it might feel quite intense as that is a session where we cover a lot of stuff. I might ask you how you feel about coming to counselling, what problems you might be experiencing or have had in the past.

If you decide to go ahead with counselling, then this is what you might want to know:

• Sessions are just you and me. Parents/Carers may attend for the first part of the very first session but then they don't come in, unless invited by you.
• Sessions last 50 minutes.
• Sessions are usually every week at the same time.
• Sessions are CONFIDENTIAL (with a couple of exceptions - see "Will you tell my Parents/Guardian what I say?")
• We might  talk or do an activity but it's always your choice whether to talk/not talk do an activity/not do an activity.

Your privacy is REALLY REALLY important to me. We will talk about this in our first session so that you understand when I might need to break your confidentiality. You can ask me about this at any time, especially if you are not sure whether you want to tell me something because you're worried I might need to tell someone.

 I will also make sure your parent(s)/guardian understand that anything you say to me in our sessions will stay strictly confidential (private) between us unless:

• I feel that you or someone else is at risk of significant harm.
• You have knowledge of, or involvement in, a serious crime such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism or money laundering.
• YOU ask me to speak to someone such as a parent/guardian/doctor on your behalf. We would agree together what I can say and who I can say it to.

All Counsellors have monthly clinical supervision where I might talk about our work together but you will not be identifiable in those discussions.

Apart from those circumstances above, I will not talk about you or what you have said to your family, your school, your work,your friends, my family, my friends or ANYONE else.  

It really depends on the situation.

I would always aim to talk about it with you so at least you would know who I was going to tell and what I was going to tell them. 

If it is a risk of harm to you or someone else, I might need to tell your parent/carer. I understand that you might hate that idea but I would only do it to keep you or someone else safe from harm. Safety has to come first. If you are at risk from a parent or carer, I might have to raise my concerns with organisations such as Social Services. I would only tell what that person or organisation needed to know to keep you (or another) safe. 

In the case of the serious crimes listed above, I am legally required to report to the police. I would also likely need to tell your parents as there could be a risk to your safety.

It all sounds very serious, I know, but it isn't very often that I have cause for concern enough to break your confidentiality.

Every client is different. Some get what they need in a short course of 6 - 8 sessions but others may want to continue counselling for months or even years. Most clients get a feeling when they are ready to finish their counselling and this is something we can discuss and plan for. 

I will never "keep" you in counselling longer than you need or want to be.