Parenting Rescue (ONLINE SERVICE)

As well as bringing us joy, children can pose a challenge that can leave parents feeling exhausted, exasperated, and desperate. Every parent works towards the same goal – to help nurture a child into a balanced, happy, loving young adult who is ready and equipped to take on the challenges of living and thriving in our complex, modern world. That’s all you need to do. Easy, right? Not on your life… but our Parenting Rescue service can help.

From the cradle to the first day of school and the transition into high school can bring challenges to parents on a regular basis

Our Parenting Rescue service isn’t counselling. The aim of our Parenting Rescue service to give you space to talk about the challenges you are facing and then the counsellor will use her expertise in this area to help you to find the best route forward. Unfortunately, there is no ”one size fits all” approach, but there is always something that can be done to make things better and families happier and calmer. By having this space to talk, our clients can really put things into perspective and give them clarity over a situation. Our counsellor’s knowledge is invaluable as the service often provides clients with that missing piece of information that suddenly makes things clearer. We call it the ‘Aha moment’

Children’s Counselling

What is children’s counselling?

Children’s counselling is a form of therapeutic support specifically adapted to a child’s age, development and individual needs.

It is not simply about asking a child to sit down and talk about their problems. Depending on their age and what they are comfortable with, counselling may involve talking, drawing, creative activities, games, stories, worksheets or other therapeutic tools.

The aim is to help children make sense of what they are experiencing and develop healthier ways of coping.

A counsellor will listen without judgement and help the child explore their thoughts, feelings and experiences. The NHS describes counselling as a process where a therapist listens and helps a person find their own ways of dealing with difficulties, rather than simply telling them what to do.

What can children’s counselling help with?

Children may benefit from counselling for many different reasons. They do not necessarily need to have a diagnosed mental health condition.

Counselling may be helpful when a child is experiencing:

• Anxiety or excessive worry
• Low mood or sadness
• Anger or emotional outbursts
• Low self-esteem or confidence
• Difficulties managing emotions
• School-related worries
• Friendship or relationship difficulties
• Bullying
• Bereavement and loss
• Family changes or separation
• Stress or overwhelm
• Difficult or upsetting experiences
• Difficulty expressing feelings
• Changes in behaviour
• Fears or phobias
• Difficulties adjusting to change

Children and young people can also experience mental health difficulties in ways that are different from adults. Sometimes emotional distress may appear as changes in behaviour rather than a child saying that they are struggling.

This means that changes such as becoming increasingly withdrawn, irritable, tearful, angry or reluctant to attend school may be worth exploring rather than simply viewing them as “bad behaviour”.

The therapeutic relationship matters

Perhaps one of the most important parts of children’s counselling is the relationship that develops between the child and their counsellor.

A child needs to feel safe, listened to and accepted before they are likely to feel comfortable exploring difficult things.

The counsellor’s role is not to judge the child, tell them off or simply tell them what they should do. Instead, the counsellor works alongside them to understand their experiences and help them develop their own ways of coping.

For some children, having an adult who genuinely listens to them and takes their feelings seriously can be an important experience in itself.

If your young adult, from 13 onwards, needs personal one-to-one counselling, please check out our young adult counselling page.

More information about our Parenting Rescue service

For more information about our Parenting Rescue service or children’s counselling please call us on 0141 353 9373 or use the form on our Contact Page.