For a child speaking to someone they do not know offers them a sense of safety, as they will not feel judged and the mere fact that its away from school and home can help some children to open up more. Counselling gives them the opportunity to talk about how they feel. We offer a safe environment for them to express their feelings and understand what may have caused them to feel this way. We explain to them that we are very different to teachers and that we are not there to tell them what to do, but to understand how they may be feeling and offer them support. The methods we use in the sessions will depend on the child’s age, situation and their learning development. There are many ways in which we can work together, art and play therapy, drawing and painting encourages children to express their feelings and express themselves better. Reading a story can be helpful for some younger children as we can talk about the feelings of a specific character. This can help them understand the emotion and, in turn encourage them to discuss their own feelings. Teenagers can sometimes find it hard to put into words how they feel, so using emotions cards and drawing can help to relax them and the feelings begin to flow more naturally. Older children may prefer talking therapy, but in my experience older children prefer the sessions to be more engaging and productive and consider just talking alone not as helpful. So we believe a mixture of both works well.

Different methods may be used for child counselling to that of adult counselling, as there are other issues to consider, purely because of their age in terms safeguarding. Although the aim of counselling for both children and adults is the same, to help the individual cope better with their feelings and provide them with the tools to cope on their own and enjoy their life again.