Young People

Our Support

Life can be hard sometimes. Things can happen that feel overwhelming and make us feel out of control. These feelings are quite normal and something we can work with, together, to support you.

Young people seek support from CASY for lots of different reasons such as problems at school, at home, self-harm, or suicidal thoughts.

No issue or problem is too big or too small.

About Counselling?

Counselling gives you an opportunity to speak to a professional about anything you may be finding difficult or are struggling with. Counselling respects your privacy and the sessions are confidential, between you and your counsellor, except in exceptional circumstances. Your counsellor is interested in getting to know you and how you experience life. They are not there to advise you but to work alongside you as you decide to make changes that will improve your mental well-being.

Making the Most of Your Therapy

Before you come for your first session at CASY, we would like to explain a few things you can expect from counselling.

Does having counselling mean there’s something wrong with me?

It is important that you realise coming to counselling is not because there is anything wrong with you as a person. Sometimes we all need help to work on big emotions and feelings that we are struggling with. The counsellor will not judge you or anything you say. Their interest is in helping you understand yourself and exploring how your life can be as happy and fulfilling as possible.

Counsellors believe that expressing emotions can be a healing process, so that you don’t have to use a lot of energy in keeping difficult emotions inside. We could explore the options you might have and might go on to decide to do something to change things – but this part of it will be in your hands.

What’s the first session like?

The session will be a chance to get to know the counsellor and for them to get to know you. They will explain about our boundaries together and about keeping us both safe throughout our meetings. The role of the counsellor is to understand you, the things that are going on for you at the moment, what it is you want to achieve or change and help you through the process as best they can. We will meet every week for up to 9 sessions with each one lasting up to 50 minutes.

What do counsellors do?

Counsellors are here to listen to you. We are interested in your story and how it is making you feel. Whilst we cannot necessarily change your life, we can work with you to make changes that are in your control, to help you to cope better, build you resilience and make important decisions that will make life easier for you.

Testimonials

“….coming to counselling has been an enjoyable experience and that he has been really happy to be here. He said he has found it good being able to talk about his feelings, he feels like things have changed and he has been feeling better about his anxieties and paranoia..” (Aged 10, 2024)

“The client says they found their sessions very helpful and although they felt shy at first, they felt more confident as sessions progressed. They say their sessions weren’t quite as expected, as there was more talking than they anticipated and felt this was better, as it let things out.” (Aged 16, 2025)

“J explained it has been helpful coming to counselling each week. She said it helped her see things from different perspectives and has enabled her to challenge the way she feels. J said over the duration of the sessions, she has found it easier as she has felt comfortable enough to talk, which she said was a big thing for her.” (Aged 22,2024)

Make a Referral

If you think counselling may help and you’d like to make a referral, please email us at office@casy.org.uk

Or you can download and complete the form below and email it to us at the same address:

Referral form (Word | 72kb)