We first met Peter* last summer. Their Dad told us they were struggling with their mental health and were subsequently not coping well at school.
Working collaboratively for the benefit of young people is central to our values, so in partnership with the social worker they had already been assigned, we met with the family to discover the most suitable support for Peter, starting with some one-to-one sessions to give them space to talk.
In our first meeting, they told us they wanted to be more confident and that their Dad was worried they had all these negative thoughts about themselves. They also told us that they didn’t love anything about themselves at all!
From time to time we came back to this question ‘What do you like about yourself?’ and one day they admitted ‘…I’m funny’ – great progress for someone who could not see any good in themselves a few weeks ago.
After several sessions alongside family support from social services, Peter began to settle back into school and we were able to adapt and reduce our sessions. We continue to collaborate with Dad and social services to ensure we are providing the most appropriate support as the circumstances change, reassuring Dad that we would not sign Peter off straight away but will continue to meet to check in and see how they are coping.
*Name changed for identity purposes