Child counselling
I provide one-to-one counselling in Salisbury for children and young people from age 5 to 13 who are experiencing stress or anxiety; they may feel overwhelmed, unhappy, lonely, worried or confused.
My approach is to work with children over the long term, using play and creativity to help them communicate and express their feelings. I am an integrative practitioner working with the unique needs of each individual; this could include playing games, story telling, clay work, mindfulness or reflective conversation.
A key aspect in my work is building a trusting and safe therapeutic relationship. Through providing this safe space and offering non-judgmental and compassionate presence the child or young person is able to move towards a more trusting relationship with themselves and with others. Counselling helps them to regulate their feelings, improve their self-confidence and deal with difficult situations more smoothly.
Young people are able to make much more significant progress if counselling sessions are combined with changes in the child’s home environment. For this reason, I also offer resources for parents and care givers to support reflection on your family situation and making changes at home - small changes can often make a big impact.
Get to know me by watching the video with your child/young person
Issues I can help with
These are some of the issues I work with;
Difficulties with daily transitions such as bedtimes or getting to school, maybe your child struggles to put their socks on or can’t bear to say goodbye at the school gates. Or larger changes such as a new class, new school or new teacher.
A bereavement in the family. Or another big life event such as a divorce or house/ school move. Sometimes it can seem like they have dealt with it well but you know that internally it may be a different story.
Parental separation. Some children may have lived in a co-parenting family for much of their life but there are unique issues that may come up as they negotiate differences between their different homes.
Friendship issues. Perhaps they report that they had no-one to play with at school. Teachers may see that they are playing with others but they don’t feel that they have a special friend or friendship group. Or maybe they have a friendship group but there are struggles within that group.
Bullying. Perhaps your child reports that they are often the target of negative comments or behaviour and the help the school have offered doesn’t seem like enough. Or you know that due to their own life experiences they may bully others.
Sibling rivalry or a difficult relationship with one parent.
Stress over school work, exams or homework.
Low mood or feelings of not being good enough, not being interested in hobbies or friendships, not wanting to leave the house.
Angry outbursts or moody behaviour.
Anxieties, over-thinking or becoming fixated on a particular thing
Issues relating to neurodivergence (whether diagnosed or not) or being highly sensitive
Please note that I don’t work with families who are going through court procedures or where there is a high level of conflict, or with adopted children (due to legal requirements), or anyone who is self-harming in a serious way.
Practicalities
I have a fun and relaxing play room in my house in East Harnham, Salisbury. Parking is available on the drive or the street. The room is on the first floor so there is a flight of stairs.
I currently have spaces available on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3pm to 7pm
Recommended number of sessions and pricing
Children have usually developed unhelpful habits for valid reasons and it takes time to carefully tease this apart. I take the time to really get to know your child, what makes them tick, what works for them and what doesn’t.
Much of the work is dependent on building a trusting therapeutic relationship so that difficult emotions can be addressed. It’s not a quick fix and changes will happen gradually. For this reason, I recommend at least 15 sessions initially. I work with many children for 30 sessions or more.
I understand that this is a big commitment, so I work closely with parents and children to ensure it is right for them. If for any reason the child or parents decide not to continue with counselling this can be agreed in a way that is least disruptive for the child.
Sessions are £45 per one-to-one session (45 mins)
Parent sessions (online) to ask questions and review progress are £45 (for 45 mins). One session every 7 to 10 weeks is suggested, but additional sessions can be requested
Access to my online resource library is included (to help you support your child)
Email support (once per month) and occasional short phone calls are included
Additional 10 week blocks can be booked after the initial programme. Payments can be made per session or in monthly instalments.
How do I know if this would be right for my child?
It’s really important to me that we have a chance to find out whether we would be a good fit in working together so I have a thorough process to help us make that decision. After each step in the process, you (or your child) can decide that it may not work. Equally if I feel that it wouldn’t be a good fit, I will let you know and recommend other services that may be more suitable.
Initially please look around my website to see if you can get a feel for how I work and whether my approach resonates with you.
The next step is to book a FREE 40 minute online consultation where we can meet and talk through the struggles you and your child are experiencing and the help I may be able to offer.
If you would like to go ahead, I will send you two questionnaires to fill out (one is a quick multiple-choice form and the other is more detailed). This means that I will be fully informed about your situation when I meet you and your child for the first session.
First paid session - meeting with parent and child. You can get to see the room and your child can be involved in the decision about whether to continue or not.
Further sessions can continue, if the child, and parent are happy to go ahead. There is more information here about what happens if you or your child decide not to continue later on.
Frequently asked questions
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Child counselling sessions can provide a much needed ‘break’ from the expectations of school, from the busyness of family life, and from friends and other people in their lives. When children feel comfortable and calm, they can begin to find ways to understand the things that are causing them upset. They begin to express how they are feeling through the creative materials in the room which often feels like a huge relief.
There is also the chance to try out new and different ways of behaving, they may enact doing something brave in the room which leads to them feeling braver in their life. Over time, small incremental changes often start to occur and with patience, these start to build up. You may notice that your child is more reflective and less reactive, they may engage more with you, they may start to enjoy a new pursuit or they talk about a new friend. They may still find it hard to put their socks on but they will be less overwhelmed and more open to exploring solutions.
I won’t help your child to be someone they are not but I will help them to be more of who they are. And with your help and support (I will guide you with this) they can develop the ability to express themselves in more helpful ways.
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Children’s natural way of communicating is through play and creativity so I use a range of materials in the room to support this, such as games, paint, drawing, sandtray, puppets, clay, movement and storytelling. For some young people, mindfulness practices work well, reflective conversations, or CBT informed approaches (Cognitive Behavior Therapy).
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I am interested in changing the dynamic for both you and your child so that family life can run more smoothly. Such changes happen at a deeper level which requires time and patience. Your child or young person will need repeated chances to practice new behaviour out both in their sessions with me and at home and school. They may encounter set-backs and this needs careful monitoring so that they don’t give up.
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I will provide access to a carefully curated library of resources to support you, the best outcomes are achieved when parents are also working to understand more about their child’s experience.
The library area includes all of my go-to resources for parents (only available to families I am working with). I will guide you towards the ones that are most relevant to you. There are book and website recommendations, PDFs and videos where I guide you through some of the ideas. I suggest you put aside at least one hour a week to work through the material here.
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Ideally the minimum number of sessions is 15 to 20 However occasionally there are times when someone doesn’t respond well (even if they agreed initially), they change their mind, or they might feel that their issues are resolved after a few sessions. I know that life can get in the way too and unexpected changes can happen. In either case I would ask for at least two more sessions, in order to process the ending.
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Cancelled appointments require a minimum of 24 hours’ notice. Full payment is required if a session is missed or the notice period is not given.
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I don’t usually work during half term breaks but I can sometimes offer sessions during Christmas, Easter or Summer holidays.
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I am currently only offering in-person session for children. I do offer online parent mentoring for parents of sensitive children, find out more here.
“Thank you so much for all the tremendous care with which you held our daughter at a very difficult time in her life, and our family’s life. She came to you very unhappy, not wanting to go into school on a daily basis, acting out her ‘big’ feelings at home, and unable to manage or articulate how she was feeling. As parents we were at a loss as to why things were so very difficult, and how to move forward through the challenges. You held a very nurturing, completely safe and reliable space for our daughter, where she felt valued, ‘heard’ and accepted. Within your sessions she found a ‘haven’ and the space to better understand what she was experiencing.
Plus, your input was absolutely invaluable in that you were the only professional at the time to pick up on the fact that our daughter might have neurological ‘differences’ that were triggering the behaviours, and that we should seek clarity on the matter. On your advice we had her tested by a few Educational Psychologists who found her to have some degree of ASD and ADHD. This clarity has been a game changer for us all. It’s enabled us to better work with her school to remove some of the overwhelm that was fuelling the behaviours; and it’s enabled us at home to understand better her unique profile, which has helped us manage things better. She is now so much better able to realise her excellent learning potential and to generally be much calmer and happier. You were a pivotal person in bringing about transformation for our daughter and us all. We are forever grateful.
And, it was testament to your work together that when it came time to consider letting go of the sessions with you, my daughter said she “would be sad not to see you because she likes you so much, but that she didn’t feel she needed the sessions any more. “ I think we should take that as a success and testament to where our daughter is ‘at’ now emotionally and with her confidence. ”