Young People's Counselling

Leamington Spa, Warwickshire

I work with Young People over the age of sixteen and trained as a Relate Young People's Counsellor.

I do see many Young People with anxiety, depression or who self harm. I have considerable experience of Mental Health having worked in this field for over six years.

You can contact me directly or ask a family member to get in touch with me.

I can help with the following:

• Building up self confidence and self esteem.
• Depression, Anxiety and other Psychological problems.
• Self harm and suicidal ideation (thoughts).
• Relationship issues with either family, friends or partners.
• Bereavement.
• Coping with parents separating or divorce.
• I can also help in other areas - please see my Student Counselling page.

I want to be supportive and non-judgemental and offer you a safe space to talk about your worries. I often use SFBT (Solution Focused Brief Therapy) in conjunction with talking therapy. We will focus on identifying your goals which generates a detailed description of what your life will look like when your goal is accomplished and the problem has either gone or coped with satisfactorily.

Together we will pay attention to any behaviours on your part that help to keep track of achievements. This will help you to break tasks down into manageable chunks and allows for self reward for every success, however large or small. It may be that the plan has to be revised but it is really important to note why this was the case and that it does not imply failure.

Keeping a journal may be helpful, however, being faced with a blank piece of paper can seem daunting. 'The Five Minute Journal' created by Alex Ikonn and UJ Ramdas offers you a positive quote every day, a weekly challenge, and a structure to help you focus on what is good.

You may want to talk about school or college where expectations to achieve are now very high. I have found that students may decide that A levels are not for them so we have spent time looking at alternatives - for example, apprenticeships, courses at Warwickshire College or jobs. We can often 'think outside of the box' and explore your strengths by completing the 'Via Survey' online, looking at 'strength spotting clues' and finally how you can use strengths in new and unique ways.

Bullying at school and online is a real issue and ultimately knocks your self confidence and self esteem. Social media can be harsh, unforgiving and cruel. With my support we can work through this so you will come out the other side stronger and with a greater sense of self worth and identity.

You may be worried about how others see you or feel judged or concerned about saying or doing the wrong thing. These are powerful negative internal scripts but CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) can challenge them and help you to find more alternative and balanced thoughts. CBT can also help with anxiety, depression and other Psychological problems that you may be experiencing.

Counselling can offer you a safe space to talk. I won't judge you but I will listen empathetically, give support and sometimes offer advice when asked for. I want to help you to make positive changes so that the present and the future can be different. We can look at times in your life when things matched more closely with the future you would prefer and work towards achieving this goal.

The following testimonial is from a sixteen year old client that I counselled for seven months:

“After the breakdown of my relationship with my dad, a long period of reckless behaviour and a general feeling of discontent with life, I felt I was on a one way path and things only seemed to be getting worse. I felt the need to speak to someone impartial and tell them all that was going on inside my head, so I went to see Liz.

I was apprehensive about my first session as I knew opening up had always been a struggle for me, and I also had a huge fear of crying - it felt like a weakness and made me feel vulnerable which I wasn't used to. I detailed to Liz about how I was feeling and immediately I felt comfortable around her and was able to share more than I had previously before.

Talking to Liz completely changed my attitude toward many things and allowed me to speak about things I had never before. It allowed me to get things off my chest and literally helped to lift a weight off of my shoulders. I was able to vent and cry when I needed to and did so in a place where I felt comfortable and unjudged. I will be forever grateful for the help of Liz and am so glad I decided to take the step to book a session.”