Counselling for Teenagers in Canterbury

When counselling might help

Adolescence is genuinely difficult, and not every difficulty needs therapy. These are the things that tend to bring young people here.

Anxiety about school, exams, or the future
Low mood, or losing interest in things they used to enjoy
Friendships, bullying, or feeling like they do not fit anywhere
Questions about identity, including gender and sexuality
Anger, or feelings that arrive faster than they can manage
Family change: separation, bereavement, a new household
Being neurodivergent in a world set up for people who are not

You do not need to recognise all of these, or be able to explain why. Get in touch and we will work it out together.

If you are the young person reading this

You are allowed to want to talk to someone. You do not need a reason that sounds serious enough.

Therapy is not someone telling you what to do, and it is not your parents finding out everything you say. It is an hour a week with an adult whose only job is to listen to you, properly, without needing you to be alright.

What you say stays private: unless we think you or someone else is at serious risk of harm
If that ever happens, we tell you: you will not find out afterwards that something was passed on
You do not have to talk: sitting in silence for a session is allowed
You can say you do not like it: including to us, and including about us
It is your hour: not your parents’, and not school’s

For parents and carers

What arranging this actually involves, and what your role in it looks like.

Ages we work with

We see young people from 13 upwards. Which practitioner is the right fit depends on age and on what is going on, and we will talk that through with you.

How it starts

You get in touch, and we arrange a £35 initial assessment. We will explain how confidentiality and safeguarding work, to you and to your child, before anything begins.

What you will and will not hear

You will know whether sessions are happening and how things are going broadly. You will not get a transcript. That boundary is what makes the sessions work.

Questions people ask

Practical answers about starting, what sessions are like, and what it costs.

What ages do you see for teenage counselling?

We work with young people from 13 upwards, as well as adults. Which practitioner is the right fit depends on age and on what is happening, and we will discuss that at the initial assessment. Sessions can be in person in Canterbury, outdoors, or securely online.

Is teenage counselling confidential from parents and school?

Largely, yes. Young people need to be able to speak openly. What a young person shares stays between them and their therapist, apart from situations involving serious risk of harm. We explain those limits clearly to both the young person and their parent at the £35 initial assessment.

How can therapy help a teenager with school stress or anxiety?

It offers a calm, non-judgemental hour outside both school and home, with an adult who has no stake in their grades or their behaviour. That alone helps. From there we work on what is driving the pressure and on managing feelings that arrive faster than they can handle.

My child does not want to come. What should I do?

Therapy someone has been marched into rarely works. It is usually worth telling them it is available, that it is private, and that they can stop after one session. Being given the choice is often what makes the difference. You are welcome to ring us and talk it through first.

Whether you are 14 or the parent of a 14-year-old

A first conversation is a way of finding out whether this would help. It commits nobody to anything.

Schedule an initial assessment

£35 · 45 minutes · No obligation to continue

Counselling for young people in Canterbury