Hello and Welcome to Jess Harrison Counselling: I have practises in Farnham Surrey, Online, and Sidmouth, Devon. If you have any questions about my website or whether I can help you, do call or email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Children and young people enjoy a slightly different approach to counselling. Many young people love zoom meeting and some younger children prefer in person counselling.
NEW SUMMER COUNSELLING. No missing school. All in person Sidmouth area. Limited Places: please ask
Parents may be feeling they are losing sight of the child they once knew, yet know an impartial professional could help. This may feel helpless or confusing but, rest assured, I can work alongside your young person in a safe, professional and caring way.
Privacy and safe confidentiality are always at the root of my work and usually we find a way to keep a young person's privacy and safety balanced throughout counselling.
Counselling when you are young can be a welcome relief from confusing feelings of anger, anxiety, loneliness, stress, to name a few. So many of my adult clients say they wish they could have come to counselling as a young person and research suggests counselling when you are young can help to prevent depression, anxiety etc in adulthood. Sometimes just a few meetings can make things feel a lot lighter; for others, with more time, it feels easier to talk to someone about things you thought you had to deal with on your own.
Nothing is too big or too small to bring to counselling you do not have to do it alone.
Together we can discover ways to allow you to express how you are feeling about what is going on for you. This could include drawing, clay modelling, sand tray play, writing, stories etc but I do understand you may just want to talk, safe in the knowledge that I do not have another role in your day to day life.
Some teens may just want a "non judgemental conversation" to express thoughts and feelings they have felt unable to share before. I can listen and help you make sense of what you may be thinking or feeling.
I will not be telling you what to do, but hopefully I can offer you a place to "get it all off your chest " in a way someone like friends or family are unable to as they know you in a particular way.
It is essential to build a relationship of trust, so you feel comfortable and safe to express how things are for you. Together, we can find some practical ways to manage your emotions and feelings. I can share simple Mindfulness/relaxation exercises to help with anxiety and I also find teaching you CBT techniques (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) can help make sense of thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviour.
I have worked extensively in schools with 4-18 year olds, on pastoral teams and in special needs support. When counselling young people, mostly, I hear people say "it's just such a relief to be able to say anything!".
Your privacy and confidentiality are very important. Older children and young people often enjoy the confidential, impartial counselling relationship so we will be sure to discuss confidentiality first. Your safety is always at the centre of my work so if you are unsure how confidentiality works, do feel free to ask about this .
I hold a current DBS.