Working with
Young People

Providing expert professional help to children, young people and their parents facing emotional and behavioural challenges.

Working With Young People

Hi

My name is Margaret, and I am a child and adolescent psychotherapist working with children and young people [0 to 25 years old] and their parents.  I’m in private practice now but previously I worked for many years in the NHS in Specialist CAMHS. 

The focus of the work is on understanding and reflecting on the underlying reasons that have come together to cause the difficulties that the young person is experiencing.  Sometimes a brief intervention can be enough to think through the problem, though a longer piece of work may be needed to bring about change where problems are deep-seated and have become really stuck over time. 

It is an act of courage to come to see someone like me, though most young people find it a relief to have someone to talk to in confidence, and in depth about their feelings, when they are suffering from a range of emotional states including, for example, anxiety, low mood, depression, and self-harm. 

Our emotional life is complex, as if it often has a life of its own; so, for example, if someone has “swallowed” their anger for a  long time and have not let it show, it can sometimes get transformed into depression.  Or maybe it is “easier” to be angry and grumpy than feeling great sadness.  Everyone is different, even if their problems appear very similar to other people’s.  The young person and the psychotherapist work together in order bring about meaningful change, in a private, reflective place.  All I ask is that people bring themselves to their appointments … not everyone talks.   I explain confidentiality at the first meeting.

Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist have a long training and are registered with the Association of Child Psychotherapists, our professional body.

There is more information on that website that you might like to check out by clicking on the link below.