Let’s Connect this Children’s Mental Health Week
It’s Children’s Mental Health Week, a time dedicated to shining a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health.
With this year’s theme ‘Let’s Connect’ focusing on the importance of meaningful connections for all, we hope that Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 will see more people than ever getting involved, starting important conversations with their children, and helping us to raise vital funds for children’s mental health.
Starting a discussion
This week is a great opportunity to start a discussion around the mental health of children and young people in our lives, and how best we can support them. Mental health is a key part of a child’s overall wellbeing, and it’s important to recognise the signs and symptoms of mental health issues so we can provide the best possible support.
Parents, carers and professionals working with young people all have a role to play in supporting children’s mental health. We should be available and willing to listen to children, providing a safe and accepting environment where children feel comfortable talking about their feelings. It’s important to be open and supportive, and to listen to children and young people without judgement when they express their feelings. Encouraging positive activities and spending time together can also help to create a supportive environment.
Counselling
Counselling is a vital resource for children dealing with mental health issues. A counsellor can provide a safe and confidential space for a child or young person to talk about their feelings and work through any issues they may be facing. Counselling can help with a wide range of issues, from anxiety and depression to relationship issues and self-esteem. It can also help with developing positive coping strategies, such as developing healthy habits, ways to express emotions and communication skills.
At Renew, we offer counselling services for children and young people, as well as adult counselling. Our counsellors are all experienced, accredited by the BACP and qualified to offer support for a wide range of issues. We strive to offer a service that rivals an expensive private practice, but at an affordable price. The actual cost of a counselling session is around £45-£50 but, in many cases, we can heavily subsidise this. Many of the people we see would not be able to afford counselling without our service.
We’re pleased to be able to offer fully funded counselling for children and young people at our Bridge Centre in Basildon, thanks to funding from NHS Mid and South Essex ICB.
If you need any further information about our services or want to find out if counselling is right for you or your child, please do get in touch with us.
Support Renew
It’s clear that the number of children and young people struggling with their mental health is on the rise and is likely to increase further. The number of people living in poverty or facing unemployment has also increased considerably in recent years. Every day, we see the impact: more people of all ages and backgrounds are needing help to cope with what life throws at them.
The cost of living crisis has created an additional layer of difficulty for many of the children and young people we come across, with parents unable to afford additional help or support for them.
We know that counselling empowers people to make important changes, and in an ideal world we would be able to deliver affordable counselling to every child or young person that needs it. Donations from people like you go a long way in helping us to make this a reality. Find out how your donations help facilitate our vital work, and how you can help us to help more children and young people, by clicking here.
