As if growing up isn’t confusing enough, this year has caused a huge ripple in the dynamic of young peoples lives. Normality – something young people rely on – has been screwed up and thrown in the bin and this has impacted on friendship groups, family balance and education. To cover the demand, we now provide in-school counselling at three independent secondary schools in the region.
Aside from their experiences of this year, there is a lot of insight to suggest mental health in young people is getting worse; suicide rates for teenagers increased by 107% in London last year alone, which is why intervention in schools is a positive thing. Teachers are being equipped with better insight into spotting and referring a mental health issue, indeed schools are even empowering young peer mentors to observe and be available – young person to young person.
Despite all of this, teenagers particularly are embarrassed to discuss their mental health concerns. Currently – taking in to account national statistics – the demands of school and exam pressure is the highest concern for young people, followed by coping with stress and body image. From the young people we work with, friendship groups and anxiety of what is in the near future, are high presenting issues.
To add to this – and often unknown to the school, are the number of young people who are providing primary care for adults or other children. Some are dealing with the loss of a significant adult, or the disability within the home, with some facing alcohol and drug abuse or prostitution – adult circumstances which can haunt a child well into their adult life.
Given the fragility of current senior school pupils, the importance of close observation in the classroom must not be over looked; any insight from a teacher – however insignificant they feel it may be – can be a real help when a referral is made to a counsellor.
Aside from the risks already discussed, less obvious changes in circumstance can also have long-lasting affects on a child. Moving house or school, the arrival of a sibling, or witnessing an accident can all play on the minds of young people, such thoughts can escalate and become much darker as they grow up. Transition from child to adult is hard enough without the burden of negative, jealous or negative feelings on a daily basis.
Accountability is a good area for consideration at this point. There is a progressive theme within 11 to 18 year olds of not going to bed until the early hours of the morning, largely due to gaming or the need to remain ‘connected’. This develops in to unhappy sleep, a lack of enthusiasm for the day and an unwillingness to connect with others. As counsellors we look for contradictions and when young people come to us with problems around friendship groups, the issues can often be traced to gaming issues or perceived aggression on social media platforms. In these circumstances we’ll work through accountability of self awareness, importance of boundaries and how to deal with conflict. While this can be successful with older teens, the question remains: at what point does a parent take responsibility for their child’s actions?
Hopefully, when a child is referred to a counsellor, whether that be in-house or an external resource, the application of positive regard and a non-judgemental approach will be the catalyst for positive change. The duration of need may differ from young person to young person but applying safe, secure and familiar intervention will stay within, possibly changing how they view adult life and ultimately how they deal with their own children.
Duncan Ellison 