During Children's Mental Health Week 2022, we're sharing case studies on how children and young people in Sefton have been supported by local services. 

Find out more about the range of support for young people's mental health in Sefton here.

Therapeutic services get student back to school

Overview

12 year old Jake* was experiencing anxiety about leaving home to go to school, with fears that ‘something really bad’ would happen.

His anxiety was impacting his quality of life and education as he often wanted to stay at home where he felt safer, and to make sure no harm was coming to his younger sibling.

Response

Jake was referred by his school and his mum to attend counselling sessions at Parenting 2000, a charity in Sefton that runs a range of services providing emotional and practical support, and information targeted at vulnerable children, young people and families.

During his sessions the team encouraged him to think about what anxiety is and how our brains work to keep us safe. They used an analogy of a fire alarm going off all the time, even when there is no fire.

They explored techniques to challenge some of his worrying thoughts and to help Jake feel more in charge.  These included distraction techniques, developing an internal voice to challenge the messages of danger, and learning some calming breathing techniques.

Outcomes

During therapy Jake found that his worrying thoughts became a little less powerful by talking to somebody about them. By the time his sessions were finished he was back to school full time and was even able to show guests around the school for an open evening.  

Jake said that sometimes he still felt worried about some things but had developed the techniques to deal with his thoughts, and felt more able to challenge them. He said, “when the fire alarm goes off in my head, I just remember that it’s only a practice one”.

*Name changed for anonymity

Developing empathy helps teen tackle conflict

Overview

14 year old Bethany* lived with her grandparents and had complex family relationships which often left her feeling angry, anxious and aggressive.

She referred herself for therapeutic counselling sessions at Parenting 2000 in Sefton for a two month period, with the intention of exploring her feelings about her family and learning strategies to control her anxiety and anger.

Response

During her counselling sessions, the team helped Bethany explore some of her worries and concerns around issues at school, feelings of being treated unfairly and her problems she encountered in relationships with friends and her family. 

The therapist helped her to look at some of the issues with an increased level of empathy, to see things from a different perspective.  The intention was to help Bethany understand why conflict occurs, and to learn to calm and soothe her anxious or angry feelings when she felt overwhelmed.

Outcomes

At the end of her sessions Bethany found that her levels of anxiety, stress and low mood were reduced and she was benefitting from learning self-soothing techniques as well as asking for support when she needed it.

*Name changed for anonymity

Drop in sessions help young man make new friends

Overview

16 year old Caleb* suffered from extreme social anxiety and found it very difficult to make friends. He found being in large groups of people very draining and often had to sleep afterwards to recharge. He would frequently miss college as he needed to recharge after each emotional experience.

Caleb began to stay home more often and rarely go out, impacting his confidence and self-esteem. Where he had previously attended extracurricular activities at college, he found that managing his anxiety in these situations became so overwhelming that he could no longer attend.

Response

Caleb was referred by his parents to several Youth Mental Health drop-in sessions at Alchemy Youth, a service run by Sefton charity Parenting 2000 that helps young people face the challenges of everyday life.  There, a youth mentor supported him to set himself goals including:

1. To develop more confidence with friends and in his relationships
2. To set small goals to re-engage with his course at college
3. To work towards having a hobby outside of online gaming
4. To engage in wellbeing half term activities to take him out of his comfort zone

He has been meeting with a youth mentor at a weekly drop-in session to pursue these goals, which has already been a marked improvement as a regular interaction outside of his home. 

Outcomes

Caleb has been regularly engaging with youth mentors, opening up a lot more and feeding back on how beneficial he finds their support. He has made progress towards his four goals by attending college more regularly, demonstrating an increase in confidence by slowly making new friends, allowing himself to laugh more and not feel pressure to be ‘perfect’. 

 *Name changed for anonymity

Teen takes up healthy alternatives to substance use

Overview

14 year old Chloe* is a very vulnerable teenager who finds it difficult to share her feelings and turned to self-harm, drugs and alcohol, leaving her mum struggling to cope.

Chloe often feels distressed by unsafe interactions online and there are concerns that she is in danger of being groomed by criminal predators. She is being educated in a pupil referral unit and is not able to keep up her attendance, even with a reduced timetabled provision.

Response

A social services multi-agency meeting was organised to share intelligence and develop a joined up response, which was attended by youth mentors from Alchemy Youth, a service for young people in Sefton run by charity Parenting 2000.

Having established that Chloe responds best to a non-clinical, person-centred approach, the youth mentors set out to maximise her engagement with fun interactive sessions and activities. They arranged to go out to eat together with Chloe, and she has attended outdoor Coastal Therapeutic Walk and Talk sessions, Stress Busting Creative Arts and Crafts sessions and other diversionary activities such as a trip to the trampoline centre and a CV workshop. Chloe has also been attending Alchemy Youth Club where she has started to make new friends and open up more.

The mentors have also helped her tackle some of the unhealthy or dangerous behaviours by educating her on keeping safe while using social media, helping her find healthier alternatives to drugs through a drug awareness session. 

Outcomes

Through her engagement with the youth mentors, Chloe has reduced some of her negative behaviour by giving up bottles of alcohol to be disposed of, reducing self-harming, and learning to open up and ask for help when she needs it.

She has been given a quiet space and a laptop to do homework at the Alchemy Youth Centre, and her school attendance has started to improve.

 *Name changed for anonymity