The one-to-one counselling provided is informed by the person-centred principle of non-judgemental empathic support which is respectful and honest. Considerable research over many years has proved that these conditions engender self-respect, self-confidence and self-belief. These principles are core to this service provision. The service will also draw on a broad range of other techniques and interventions which have been established as being effective and of value. In order to support people to derive value from counselling it can be important for the counsellor to work with the young person in developing their self-awareness and a language to describe their experiences and feelings. This facilitation is a delicate process of supporting the person to find their own emotional language and deciding which techniques to introduce. Relevant factors may be age, gender, level of intellectual, emotional and interpersonal development.
The use of art materials, figures, emotional cue-cards, theme cards, music, games etc are all promoted as mediums through which young people may choose to express themselves and engage in counselling. For some young people it is easier to engage in dialogue in parallel to “doing something” as this can make the discussion less intense. We are a learning organisation and our commitment to improving services means that we pay attention to contemporary research and when new evidence-based therapeutic interventions emerge which are effective with young people we ensure that staff are made aware of these new perspectives and the appropriateness of introducing them into their work