Counselling for Teenagers and Young People (aged 13+)
Being a teenager can be difficult enough without feeling that you have to manage everything on your own.
I offer one-to-one counselling for young people aged 13 and over who may be struggling with anxiety, low mood, self-esteem, friendships, relationships, family difficulties, school or college pressures, identity, neurodivergence, difficult experiences, or simply a sense that things are not quite right.
Sometimes there is a clear reason for seeking therapy. Sometimes there is not.
Your teenager does not need to arrive knowing exactly what they want to talk about. Part of the work can be figuring that out together.
What might counselling help with?
Young people come to therapy for all sorts of reasons. These can include:
Anxiety, worry or panic
Low mood or feeling withdrawn
Low self-esteem or confidence
Friendship and relationship difficulties
School or college pressures
Family difficulties or conflict at home
Big life changes, including separation or divorce
Bereavement, grief and loss
Bullying or feeling isolated
Questions around identity or belonging
Anger or difficulties managing emotions
Difficult or traumatic experiences
Neurodivergence and feeling misunderstood
Feeling overwhelmed, stuck or unsure what is wrong
There does not need to be a diagnosis or a crisis for counselling to be useful.
Sometimes a young person simply needs somewhere that is theirs, where they can talk openly without worrying about upsetting, disappointing or protecting the people around them.
My experience with young people
I have over 15 years' experience working with children, teenagers and young adults, including extensive experience supporting young people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other forms of neurodivergence.
I have also worked with young people experiencing grief, family change, anxiety and other difficult life events.
Alongside this experience, I am a qualified counsellor and therapist and have undertaken additional training specifically focused on therapeutic work with children and young people.
I hold an Enhanced DBS certificate, which is the higher-level criminal record check used for people working with children and young people.
My approach is integrative and relational. This means I do not expect every young person to fit into the same therapeutic model.
Some teenagers want to talk.
Some find it easier to think through things using drawings, metaphors, stories, games or practical exercises.
Some need time before they feel comfortable saying very much at all.
Therapy should adapt to the young person, rather than expecting the young person to adapt to therapy.
Does my teenager have to agree to therapy?
Yes.
Therapy is unlikely to be helpful if a young person feels they are being forced into it.
That does not mean they need to be enthusiastic about the idea from the beginning. Many teenagers are understandably sceptical about talking to a therapist, particularly if therapy was originally suggested by a parent.
There are ways of making the first step feel less daunting.
We can start with an informal conversation so they can meet me, ask questions and get a sense of what I am like before deciding whether they want to continue.
Therapy also does not have to mean sitting opposite someone and talking about feelings for fifty minutes.
I keep board games and quick card games available in the therapy room. Sometimes having something simple to do together can take the pressure off conversation, help a young person settle into the room and make it easier for the therapeutic relationship to develop naturally.
For young people who enjoy gaming, storytelling or imaginative worlds, I can also incorporate therapeutic role-playing games into our work.
This can include games inspired by Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop role-playing games. A young person might create a character, explore situations through a fictional world, make decisions, solve problems and experiment with different ways of responding to challenges.
The game is not a disguise for therapy. It is another way into therapeutic work, particularly for young people who find direct conversation uncomfortable or simply engage better when there is something creative and collaborative happening alongside it.
Find out more about RPG Therapy.
What happens in counselling?
Sessions are usually 50 minutes and take place once a week.
The first few sessions are about getting to know one another and understanding what has brought the young person to therapy.
I am not there to interrogate them or make them talk about things they do not want to discuss.
Instead, we gradually build a relationship in which they can begin to explore what is happening in their life, how they feel about it, and what they might want to change.
The work may involve talking, reflecting on patterns, exploring relationships, looking at thoughts and feelings, developing ways of managing difficult situations, or using creative approaches where these are useful.
Sometimes we may talk for most of a session. Sometimes a game, drawing, metaphor or activity can make it easier to begin talking about something difficult. There is no expectation that therapy has to look the same from one young person to another.
What about parents?
Parents and carers are important, particularly when a young person is struggling.
At the same time, teenagers need to know that counselling is genuinely confidential.
I will usually speak with a parent or carer before therapy begins so that we can discuss what has been happening, answer any questions and agree how the practical side of therapy will work.
Once counselling begins, I will not routinely report back on what a young person talks about in their sessions.
There may sometimes be useful conversations between us about how things are going more generally, and where appropriate I may encourage a young person to involve their parent or carer in something we have discussed.
The boundaries around confidentiality will be explained clearly before therapy begins.
The main exception is where I become seriously concerned about a young person's safety or the safety of somebody else. If that happens, I will normally try to discuss with the young person what needs to happen next rather than acting behind their back wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so.
Neurodivergent young people
A significant part of my professional experience has involved working with autistic and otherwise neurodivergent young people.
For some young people, previous experiences of school, relationships or services may have left them feeling that they are constantly being asked to behave, communicate or cope in ways that do not come naturally to them.
Therapy should not be another place where that happens.
My aim is not to train someone to appear less autistic, less ADHD or more conventionally "normal".
Instead, we can look at what is actually difficult for them, what helps, what drains them, how they experience relationships and the world around them, and how they can understand themselves with greater confidence.
Starting therapy
You are welcome to contact me as a parent, carer or young person.
We can arrange an initial conversation to talk about what has been happening, what you are looking for and whether I might be a good fit.
There is no obligation to continue afterwards.
If you are contacting me on behalf of your teenager, we can also think together about the best way to introduce the idea of therapy to them.
Free 30-minute initial consultation
Get in touch
Email: jamesboltontherapy@gmail.com
Text or call: 07343014920