Online counselling allows you to write about your problems and feelings in a safe supportive and private space online.
A counsellor is trained to listen with empathy (by putting themselves in your shoes) and write back. Whatever's on your mind. If you want to rant or vent or to get something off your chest, or you're feeling over-whelmed, lost or alone, whatever, we'll listen and help as best we can, supporting you to find ways to cope with whatever is going on for you at the moment.
Instant message (IM) or Email Counselling ?
Currently we offer either instant message counselling sessions or email counselling sessions. We will 'try' to link you up with one of the team that offers your preferred choice. We are able to offer up to 12 sessions.
With instant message counselling, your counsellor will offer you a time to meet up online. It's a good idea to log on here 5 minutes before your sessions starts. The session will last for up to 50 minutes.
In the event of a technical breakdown or sudden loss of contact your worker will attempt to re-establish contact with you by phone within 15 minutes. If it is not possible to continue the session another will be arranged.
With email counselling you will have all week to write to your counsellor, you may decide to do this in one long message or in smaller chunks over the week ( a bit like a diary). You counsellor will respond to your message or messages on a set day and in one go. This can feel quite slow at the start, but young people have told us that it builds momentum and they find a rhythm with this way of getting counselling.
Counselling can help you to cope and overcome issues that are causing pain or making you feel uncomfortable.
It can provide a safe and regular space for you to talk and explore difficult feelings. The counsellor is there to support you, to respect your views and will not judge you for anything that you say. It may feel quite strange at first, especially if you are not used to talking to anyone about your concerns but after a few counselling sessions and email exchanges people say that it becomes easier.
Counselling can help you to:
- Cope with a bereavement or relationship breakdown
- Problems at college or school.
- To manage and learn how to improve communication with your family or friends
- Can help you to explore sexual and identity issues
- Supports you to face difficult feelings such as anger, shame or sadness etc
- Helps you to explore and cope with issues that are preventing you from achieving your ambitions
- Supports you to manage feelings of anxiety, depression or sadness, develop resilience and have a more positive outlook on life
- To help you understand yourself and your problems more clearly
- Help you to feel more confident, improves self-worth and to learn more healthy ways to care for yourself
- Develop a better understanding of other people’s points of view
- Helps you to learn coping techniques for self-harm, issues with eating and sleeping.
Counselling can often involve exploring difficult or painful feelings and, as you begin to face them, with help and support, you should gradually start to feel better.
A counsellor will not judge you or give you direct advice, but will help you explore alternatives so you can make your own choices.
Health and Wellbeing Agreement
We are also offering health and wellbeing support using the online counselling platform.
The following Agreement sets out how best we can work together online, please feel free to let us know if anything is unclear or you'd like to know more.
Health and Wellbeing Sessions
The way we work is by helping you to decide what changes you want to make and to work together with you on how to go about achieving those changes. We can help you to set realistic goals, plan how to achieve them and explore the barriers that get in the way of your progress.
In other words, we will support you to identify what you want to be different, and support you to begin making those positive changes. This involves working with a variety of tasks and strategies so that you can improve the quality of your life. We find that this approach works particularly well with some home practice and a willingness to have a go and try some things out.
Here are some of the key issues we work with but there are many more:
- anxiety
- worry
- low self-esteem
- body image
- low mood
- depression
- exam stress
The Sessions
The sessions will either take place online by arranging a time to meet/write to each other in real time (instant messaging), or via weekly email support. The choice is yours.
We can offer you offer you upto 12 sessions, but it may be that you only need/want 3 or 4. We can review this as we go along, and you will always be welcome to return for more sessions by registering for the service again.
All sessions are up to an hour in length, and you will need to prepare to meet up in a safe and private space where you will not be disturbed if you are choose to do them via instant message.
It is also a good idea to find a time to write that is private and quiet if you choose email support. Some young people decide to use the email support like a diary so may write a couple of times a week. Your health and wellbeing worker wiill respond in one go to these messages, on a set day.
Missing sessions
When you miss a session without giving any notice, we will message you to arrange a session for the following week. If you don't get in touch the following week (so you have missed two sessions in a row), we will assume that you no longer want to use the service and send you a message to end our work together. However, you will always be welcome to re-apply by re-registering at any time.
Confidentiality
We do not share anything that you say with anyone else. However there are some circumstances where we may need to talk to another person or authority who can support you more safely than we can online. So this means that if you tell us that your life is in danger or you are seriously harming yourself or others, or others are harming you, then we will need to share this with someone else.
We will always try and explain how this might work with you first though, and you will be encouraged to share any risk to yourself with the appropriate authority or person if possible. For more information on this please read the Confidentiality Statement that you ticked when you registered for the service or the tab on our website. You’re also welcome to check this out further with your worker if you have any questions.
We are supervised by a senior practitioner who supports us to work to a professional standard although your name and identity is not disclosed.
Please see the Privacy Statement that you ticked when you registered or the website for more about the storage of your personal information.
Technical Breakdowns and loss of contact
In the event of a technical breakdown or sudden loss of contact your worker will attempt to re-establish contact with you by phone within 15 minutes. If it is not possible to continue the session another will be arranged.
Holiday Notice and breaks
Your worker will let you know in advance of any holidays or breaks that they will be taking. Please let us know in advance if you need to take any breaks as well. If we are given notice we will not count this as a missed session.
First Contact
At the first session we will be exploring your issues with you and finding out what you would like to work on.
You will be asked to complete a short mood form (called CORE) at the beginning and end of our work together and to read and check that you understand the Health and Wellbeing Agreement.
You will be asked whether you would prefer to have the sessions by instant message or email and we will arrange a time to meet if they are by instant message.
You’re welcome to let your worker know if you have any further questions. 😊