Children stories and feedback

Sam's story

Sam was a relatively new pupil to the school; Elouise, his mum had moved him from his first primary school. He continued to struggle to manage his behaviours and coping with peer relationships.

Sam worked with his therapist over a period of seven months. Elouise described how much Sam benefitted from therapy and how excited he was to engage in the sessions.

As Sam was beginning to gain his confidence, Elouise was able to initially reduce and then stop having to be at school with Sam. At this point, Elouise began accessing the service for herself. Initially, she accessed counselling and then filial/ play therapy, an approach that aids parents to support their child’s well-being through play.

Elouise described counselling as hugely important. ‘It’s definitely made a difference to me. I am more confident. I put things into practice which helps us both. To begin with, I thought it was only Sam who needed help but looking back I needed help too. I wish I had accessed this a long time ago.’ The play sessions helped Sam ‘share his feelings; we laughed a lot too.’

Archie's story

Archie is a primary school pupil who was referred due to stress and anxiety. His home life was difficult due to an acrimonious break up between his parents and living as part of a blended family.  In addition to these family issues Archie was dealing with historic and recent sexual abuse within the family, pressures relating to his education and racial bullying. Archie was also awaiting confirmation of a suspected Asperger’s diagnosis.

He began counselling feeling very stressed and anxious but quickly engaged well with the therapeutic relationship. During this time Archie described counselling as a safe place which gave him space to share his worries. He reflected on how well he was now able to deal with difficult situations and appeared happy and able to cope. By the end, he felt confident enough to move forward on his own, having had a very positive experience of the counselling process.

Jordan's story

Jordan lived with his parents until the age of 2. Both had addiction problems and as a result he had experienced significant neglect. He has been living with his foster carers for almost 5 years. He was referred for play therapy by his teacher following a number of unprovoked aggressive outbursts in the playground.

Jordan initially said little in the play therapy session but threw himself into all aspects of play. He would draw, create and play out chaotic scenes with trains, cars and planes; bashes and crashes were frequent themes. However, as the sessions progressed the chaos became less frequent; Jordan’s play became more ordered and he began to talk more about his experiences. By the end of play therapy, Jordan’s outbursts were settling down and he felt more able to talk about his worries to his foster carers and teacher.

Claire's story

Claire was referred for counselling following a sudden family bereavement. Whilst Claire initially focused on her loss, she quickly identified concerns about her mum and her feelings of responsibility for her. She also shared her struggle with being bullied at school and lacking in self-worth. During her counselling Claire frequently drew on creative media and role play to express and make sense of her feelings.

By the end of counselling Claire had successfully negotiated a transition from primary to secondary school, formed new friendship groups and developed new interests that allowed her a greater sense of confidence and independence.