What Is Therapy?
Many people go through times when they struggle with how they feel and how they are coping with things or thoughts they are having. Therapy is a way to get help when you are struggling. You might be aware of a specific problem that makes you feel this way or feel confused about why you are feeling this way. Maybe your parent, carer, doctor, teacher, friend or someone else has suggested you go to a therapist. Or it might be your idea to speak to someone outside of your usual circle of people you might talk to. If you choose to speak to a therapist, you will meet with a trained professional to talk, listen and support you in a safe space without feeling judged. A therapist has experience in a range of difficulties that people your age experience, and you will be matched to someone with expertise in the areas you need support with. A therapist is an expert in wellbeing and mental health and can show you ways to take care of your mind, just as you might see a doctor if you were feeling physically unwell in your body.
Why Do People Need Therapy?
Therapy can help when you have problems you can’t cope with alone. Therapy helps you talk about your feelings, how they impact what you do and teaches you new skills so together with your therapist, you can work out how to manage your difficulties. Many people struggle with how they feel because of problems they have with friends, family or school. Others experience feelings of low mood, depression, anxiety, panic or anger.
What Problems Do Therapists Help With?
Our therapists are trained to help people your age with all kinds of difficulties. We can help people go through tough times, including family problems, loss or grief, issues at school, relationship issues, bullying, managing time online, or health worries. Therapists also help you understand your feelings, which might be getting in the way of doing things you would like to do. This might include emotions like sadness, anger, feeling low or feeling worried. Therapists also help you manage your mental health condition (if you have one), including conditions like depression, anxiety, ADHD, eating disorders or post-traumatic stress.
How Does Therapy Work?
Your therapist will help explore the areas you want to focus on, and together you will create a plan of how to find strategies for coping. You will do activities with your therapist that teach you skills and learn by both talking and doing. Your therapist is also there to look at what’s going well in your life to help you build on the positives and what you’re already good at and support you to solve problems through the new skills you learn.
What Happens in Therapy?
Your therapist will invite you to meet for an initial session to get to know you by asking questions and listening to you as it is essential that you feel comfortable with them. In the first session, your therapist will explain what confidentiality means, agree with you how often you will meet and for how long, ask you what you hope to get out of the sessions and what happens if you can’t make a session. Your therapist will be able to answer any questions or worries you might have. Then your therapist will suggest how they can help you, and together you will develop a plan for how to use your sessions. Your therapy sessions might include a mix of talking and doing. You will learn activities that teach you new skills that will help with your specific difficulties. You might also be asked to try out some of these skills between your sessions or practice them when you are by yourself. Therapy can also take place in small groups with people with similar difficulties, similar experiences of similar age. Your therapist can tell you more about this.
How Long Do People Stay in Therapy?
How long therapy lasts depends on your problem and what you need. Hidden Strength offers everyone up to 10 sessions to start with. You and your therapist will agree at the beginning on how long you will meet and how often.
