Ben is 13, mum called the centre and asked for him to be seen. At his assessment with an adolescent counsellor, he expressed his frustration and very low mood. Mum was always cleaning and didn’t allow him to sit in certain rooms and dad was never around, and when he was he didn’t speak much to Ben. He says that mum used to be very anxious and panicky and would need him to do a lot of the jobs outside home, like shopping. Since we came out of Covid she has got a lot better. But he notices he seems to be getting very angry and doesn’t know why. Ben struggled to tell his counsellor that he has been harming and that this is upsetting him. He says teachers hate him and if they talk to him in a certain way he just flips. He doesn’t want to go to school for help. He wants to be seen at Bridge in Basildon.

Counselling was initially hard for Ben, he found it hard to trust the counsellor.
It was very important to give Ben the time to develop a relationship with the counsellor. The counsellor began by working creatively with Ben. While painting Ben began to talk and create artwork that expressed his feelings and fears. Ben did not want to be anxious like mum, but also not like dad. It was hard for Ben to see another way. For the first time he was able to talk about his feelings.

Marlene was referred to our service because of non attendance , self harming and disruptive behaviour in the classroom. She was well-known to the school, which had been trying to work with her family. M’s mother reported domestic violence between herself and M’s dad, and struggled to manage her daughters behaviour. Her father reported concerns about his wife’s mental health. Neither would attend meetings at which the other parent was present, though they both still resided in the family home. 

M expressed her relief at having a time, in which she could be creative and express her feelings through images. Drawing in class had often got her into trouble with his teacher. 

M attended sessions each week and enjoyed the opportunity to talk, draw, creating graphic images of depicting death, where wild creatures attack unsuspecting people. We spent time together talking about these scenes and she would often enter into this imaginary world, thinking about what was happening to the characters – alternately asking for protection, or being an aggressor. 

T is a woman in her late 40s. Her children are both leaving home shortly, one to move in with her boyfriend and one to move for work. Her relationship with her husband is poor, and she is very worried that he is going to leave her. He seems to be getting on very well outside the home, but when with her is closed off.

T has not worked for a very long time, she has lost confidence in her ability to re enter the workplace. She is out of step with current technology and lacking confidence to do courses and meet new people. She has lost all motivation, feeling ‘too old’ and ‘who would want me’.
T has felt depressed for the last 6 years, she says she has lost all her self esteem, she is not happy with her weight gain and is anxious about her decreasing health.

Tom, a five-year-old boy, was brought for counselling because of his angry and aggressive behaviour at home and at school. His parents had separated due to domestic violence, contact with his father was erratic, and his mother now had a new partner by whom she was pregnant.

In the counselling room, Tom used toys and art materials in making stories involving conflicts and magical resolutions, where his wish to be powerful, invulnerable and in control was evident. Gradually, the counsellor’s reflections of the thoughts and feelings underlying his play enabled Tom to talk about his distress and anxiety about all the changes in his family life.