Young People Counselling

Providing a safe and confidential environment for growth.

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Our Expertise

Our counselling services are tailored to meet individual family and school needs and are delivered in groups or one-to-one. Below is an overview of some of the areas that we cover. 

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)

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How CBT works

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle. CBT aims to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts.

 

You are shown how to change these negative patterns to improve the way you feel.

Unlike some other talking treatments, CBT deals with your current problems, rather than focusing on issues from your past. CBT looks for practical ways to improve your state of mind daily.

 

In addition to depression or anxiety disorders, CBT can also help people with:

 

  • Some of the advantages of CBT include:
  • it may be helpful in cases where medication alone hasn’t worked
  • it can be completed in a relatively short period of time compared with other talking therapies

Anger management

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Anger management

Physical Symptoms of Anger-Related Problems

Letting anger issues go unaddressed can put your overall health at risk. Some physical symptoms of anger-related problems include:

  • Tingling
  • Heart palpitations or tightening of the chest
  • Increased blood pressure
  • Headaches
  • Pressure in the head or sinus cavities
  • Fatigue

Abuse

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Abuse

There are many different types of abuse and they all result in behaviour towards a person that deliberately or intentionally cause harm.

 

Types of abuse:

  • Physical abuse
  • Domestic violence or abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Psychological or emotional abuse
  • Financial or material abuse
  • Modern slavery
  • Discriminatory abuse
  • Organisational or institutional abuse
  • Neglect or acts of omission
  • Self-neglect

Addiction(s)

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Addiction is a disease with a range of harmful conditions and behaviours. Recognizing these signs can help a person with addiction receive the treatment the individual needs.

Some most common symptoms are:

  • A change in appearance: A person may begin to appear more disheveled, tired, and haggard, as using the substance or carrying out the addictive behaviour replaces key parts of the day, including washing clothes and attending to personal hygiene.

Withdrawal symptoms:  Depending on the type of drug use, the person may experience physical symptoms such as constipation, diarrhea, trembling, seizures, sweats, and uncharacteristic behaviour, including violence.

Bullying

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Bullying

Bullying can make you feel isolated and worthless, lonely, anxious, angry and lacking confidence. You may experience some or all of these feelings.

Some people who are being bullied develop depression, anxiety and eating problems. They may self harm or turn to drugs and alcohol. If you are experiencing problems like these because of bullying, it’s having an impact on your health.

Types of bullying

If somebody physically hurts you, or verbally abuses you, that’s bullying.

Specific types of bullying include:

  • Homophobic bullying based on your sexual orientation
  • Racist bullying because of your skin colour
  • Religious bullying because of your beliefs or faith.
  • Sizeism bullying referring to your body size
  • Sexist bullying focusing on you being of the opposite sex
  • Cyberbullying targeting you online, often anonymously
  • Bullying because you are different

Bullying can be a one-off or it can go on for a long time. And bullying can happen to anyone. If the bullying is happening at school – talk to your parents or carers and your teacher. Your teacher may have no idea that you are being bullied, and the school will have an anti-bullying policy to tackle it.

If you feel you can’t speak to your teacher, maybe a friend can do it for you.

You can also speak to a school counsellor, welfare officer or nurse.

Relationship

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Relationship

some common reasons for relationship problems

 

  • Manipulation of, or over-involvement in your relationship from family and/or friends
  • Unrealistic expectations – still thinking your partner/spouse is the princess or the knight, and not seeing the real human being
  • Addictions – substance abuse, gambling, sex/porn… anything that’s become an unhealthy preoccupation
  • Significant differences – in core values and beliefs
  • Life stages – you’ve outgrown each other or have changed significantly for whatever reason
  • Traumatic events–Traumatic and/or life-changing events
  • Prolonged stress-responses to prolonged periods of stress, such as work-related stress, long-term illness, mental health issues, financial problems, problems with the children, infertility… the list could go on!

Anxiety

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Anxiety

Anxiety can make a person imagine that things in their life are worse than they really are, and prevent them from confronting their fears. What is important is the recognition that anxiety is normal and exists due to a set of bodily functions that have existed in us all of us. People often experience physical, psychological and behavioural symptoms when they feel anxious or stressed.

Some of the most common physical symptoms of anxiety are:

  • Increased heart rate
  • Increased muscle tension
  • “Jelly legs”
  • Tingling in the hands and feet

 

 

Anxiety Symptoms

 

  • Reduced interest and/or pleasure in activities most of the day, almost every day.
  • Significant weight loss or gain not related to dieting
  • Increased or decreased appetite
  • Major changes in sleeping patterns
  • Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day.
  • Feeling worthless or having excessive guilt almost every day.
  • Problems with concentration almost every day.

Recurring thoughts of death (more than fear of dying), suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt, or a specific plan for committing suicide

Depression

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Depression

Depression is rated as mild to severe; depending on the impact that symptoms have on a person’s everyday life. However, no two people are affected in the same way.

The psychological symptoms of depression include:

  • continuous low mood or sadness
  • feeling hopeless and helpless
  • having low self-esteem 
  • feeling tearful
  • feeling guilt-ridden
  • feeling irritable and intolerant of others 
  • having no motivation or interest in things
  • finding it difficult to make decisions
  • not getting any enjoyment out of life
  • feeling anxious or worried
  • having suicidal thoughtsor thoughts of harming yourself

Low self-confidence

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Low Self-esteem

Low self–esteem” exists when someone has a general feeling of insignificance or a lack of importance. Someone with low self–esteem is likely to avoid social interactions, feel inadequate in work and struggle to accept criticism.

Some common signs of low-self esteem

  • Sensitivity to criticism
  • Social withdrawal
  • Hostility
  • Excessive preoccupation with personal problems
  • Physical symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia and headaches
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Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Know that Elite Counselling is right for me?

Elite counselling is right for you and your child if you are looking for a reputable service that can address your child’ current emotional distress.

Elite counselling provides counselling for young people who are struggling with their emotions; this may also be impacting on their school attendance and/or educational attendance.

Elite counselling is for you if you are looking for a counsellor who is attentive to the needs of your child and able to provide specialist counselling in a holistic environment.

Do you work with schools?

Yes, we work with both schools and individuals. Please click here for more information.

What happens if I don’t invest in counselling for my child?

It is always best to attend to your child’s emotional needs as early as possible for the most favorable outcome. Leaving emotional challenges unattended to can also impact a child’s well-being as an adult.

It can also impact a child’ educational attainment including both those who are struggling with their behavior and children who otherwise may be achieving well.

I need to make an urgent referral; how can I do this?

Please use this referral form for an urgent query.

How to ensure that your child does well:

I understand that this may be a difficult time for you. You may have got called by the school your child attends. Your family are concerned about your child’s behavior. You are at your wit’s end. Your child just doesn’t seem to listen to you. This won’t go away without any action.

If you leave it for too long:

Your child may be at a longer-term risk of emotional and behavioral challenges. This may impact on their family and friendship relationships including distancing, dissociation, arguments or/and behavioral challenges, positive communication, appetite and sleep related problems.

A child’s educational attainment may also be at risk; this may include challenges in concentrating, difficulties in focusing on homework, challenging behaviors towards other children and teachers.

It is thus important to ensure that your child receives healthy professional input to support their emotional development.

How do I make a payment?

You can book and pay for your first session here. Slots can be filled very quickly and so we advised that you book a session as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

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