Young people

Mental health and emotional wellbeing are about the way we think and feel and cope with difficulties.

Our mental health changes throughout life like our physical health does. We all have our ups and downs, times that we feel stressed, frightened or find it difficult doing anything. Usually these feelings pass but sometimes they don’t and that can stop us doing things we want or used to enjoy.

Mental health problems are more common than people might think and can happen to anyone. Sometimes problems appear from nowhere. Or they may develop as the result of a particular event, like the death of someone close, an accident, family problems or being bullied or abused.

If we ignore these feelings and hope they go away or fix themselves, they can grow into more serious problems. They can affect our behaviour and the way we get on with others.

What do we help with?

We help with many different issues. Common problems are worry, stress, feeling down, problems with family or friends, low confidence and trouble sleeping or concentrating.

Some of our services can help you straighten things out on practical issues that might be bothering you around school, college or work, family and accommodation.

We also work with young people who have particular fears or phobias, relationship or family worries, stutters or stammers, have experienced abuse, or find it difficult to control their behaviour. We help people who feel overwhelmed or want to hurt themselves or have a harmful relationship with drugs or alcohol.

How do we help?

We are professionals who help young people work out the cause of their problems and how best to make things better. Everyone is different, so the help we provide will differ from person to person.

Our teams includes advisers, youth workers, counsellors, therapists and psychiatrists. They are all trained to work with young people and to know what works best for different types of problems. Between them, they are able to talk through your worries with you and help you find ways to make things get better.

We may see you alone or with your family – working with everyone that is important to you may help us to find the best solutions – whatever works best for you. You might just see us once or twice, regularly for a few weeks, or sometimes for much longer. It depends on you and what you need.

See how young people felt before and after they used our First Steps service.

How we help