molly_issue34_winter

“This may be due to anger management issues,
feeling they don’t fit in, the fact that they have been
bullied or sexually-abused. Children and young
people do also suffer from anxiety and depression
and they may well have thoughts of suicide.”
Naomi said that problems can arise irrespective of
family size or dynamics and they need to be taken
seriously.
“Those struggling can come from any background
and any type of family. They may be the only child,
part of a big family, fostered or adopted and
looked after by one or both parents or have
divorced parents.”
Health issues, such as when a child or parent
develops cancer, will affect the whole family. It is
just one occasion when counselling children can
have a positive knock-on effect for everyone.
“When we have a case where a parent gets cancer,
we work with organisations like Scunthorpe-based
Team Verrico and with Lincoln-based Sophie’s
Journey, if the child is ill, and we bring the whole
family on board to work through everyone’s
emotions and worries,” said Naomi.
Whatever the issue, children, young people and
adults, can self-refer themselves to NWCH or may
be referred by anyone from a social worker to a
GP, Macmillan Nurses, a drug and alcohol service
or other medical or education professional.
“When someone contacts us, the first contact they
have is with our Office Manager Sally Watkins.
She completes an assessment, by telephone or in
person if they have visited the Hub. It’s important
to discover the nature of the problem and to match
the young person with the right counsellor for their
needs.
“This will vary because some will have eating
disorders, special educational needs or be
struggling to come to terms with a bereavement,
there are so many different issues.
“When they first visit us, which may be with a
parent, parents or social worker, they wait in
our reception while the child accompanies our
counsellor. They go into one of our especially
decorated rooms. We have two for children aged
four to 11-years old and a young persons’ room
for teenagers and another three for adults.
“The priority for any counselling organisation is to
make sure that the child or young person feels safe
and relaxed. That’s why the rooms for younger
people are filled with toys and games. We often
use the toys to ask the children questions. Often
our pet therapy dogs help to calm the children. We
Counsellor
Sarah Quezada
at work
have also been careful to make the young person’s
rooms gender neutral and non-clinical,” said Naomi.
“When we are dealing with a case involving sexual
abuse, we find that some youngsters want to share
their experiences but others don’t. We tend to
focus on life in general and how their experience
has impacted their life – we don’t go over the
actual abuse itself. We are very careful, a court
case may be in progress, and we adhere to the
CPS guidelines.”
Whenever anyone goes for counselling two of their
first questions are – how long will it take? and how
much will my counselling cost?
“In our case we start by setting-up a minimum
of twelve sessions, but we review an individual’s
progress every six sessions,” said Naomi.
“Thanks to our success in winning funding from
The Bromhead Medical Trust and The National
Lottery we are delighted to say that, in many cases,
we are able to offer free counselling to children
and young people through our Acorn and
Snowdrop projects,” added Naomi.
“We know counselling works and, at NWCH, we are
thrilled to be able to say that we are saving lives.
It is so rewarding to be able to turn around young
lives, give children and young people fresh hope
and help them to build great friendships for the
future. Just seeing a child making eye contact
again and starting to smile again is fantastic.”
For further info: Unit 10, Allenby Business Park, Crofton Road, Lincoln, LN3 4NL
T: 01522 253809 E: admin@nwcounsellinghub.co.uk www.nwcounsellinghub.co.uk
www.mollysguide.co.uk
11