Description
Does your child/teen experience anxiety? Do they worry about things to the point that it affects their ability to engage with school or life in general? Do they struggle with their strong emotions?
Do you wish you had discovered the keys to mental wellbeing when you were young?
If I had known as a child that I didn’t need to take my thinking seriously and that I had my own internal guidance mechanism, my adult life would have been much easier.
I use the tried and tested Our Mental Health Rocks curriculum to help children and teens see their innate wellbeing and mental health. At the same time I adapt how I work to fit with every individual I work with. Some children/teens are reluctant to talk to a stranger so we do some fun activities to break the ice. Others are very willing to talk and so we use what they are actually experiencing to explore wellbeing, the nature of thought, where emotions and feelings come from and much more.
What will the children explore?
Over a series of 7 sessions I’ll help your child see their mental health and wellbeing that is there all the time.
We will uncover some or all of the following things that make up our wellbeing:
Calm – our natural ability to always reset to calm.
Confidence – our natural ability to try new things. Built in to us otherwise we wouldn’t have ever crawled and then walked!
Creativity – something we do every moment of every day without even realising. We create and believe things all the time. We therefore have the potential to create and believe something else.
Wisdom – or intuition. Our natural ability to know things that we didn’t know we knew.
Resilience – that which keeps us moving forwards, and helps us get through ‘tough’ times and negative thinking.
In addition, children/teens will understand where their feelings and emotions come from, the nature of those feelings and emotions and their impact on how we experience our mental health and wellbeing.
By the end of the sessions children/teens will understand that we all work in the same way. That our state of mind can affect our judgement and decision making and that people experience things differently. They will also understand the nature of our thoughts.
Core issues we explore in the sessions
Over the 7 sessions we’ll informally, through chats, explore
- Who we are – the wellbeing we’re born with and where to find it
- How life works – it’s inside out!
- The thought/feeling connection – how thoughts create feelings in our bodies and how to use that
- Wisdom/intuition and how to harness it for an easier life
- How we see ourselves and others
- Creativity and resilience – where they’re found and how they support us
- How moods impact our experience
Tamsin Sutton –
Our 8 year old has been a little worrier for some time – anxiety has a way of growing and shifting, so her fears have morphed from worries about separation and death to food/drink and anything inbetween. Vicki is trained to work with primary age children on the My Mental Health Rocks programme. Over the past 7 weeks we’ve noticed a real change in Alanna’s behaviour: she is far calmer and expresses an understanding of her own mental health and wellbeing. Such a gift to see her troubles fading! Needless to say Alanna is recognising the benefits herself and does not want the sessions to end (there are 10 in the curriculum). In Alanna’s words: ‘Vicki is showing me how to be calm and is helping me overcome my anxiety.8 Vicki is fun and explains things well, she is kind and is respectful to all my suggestions’. Amazing to see Alanna growing her resilience and wisdom. Thank you!
Mel –
My 10-year-old girl is a born worrier. Worry sometimes turns into anger and I have found it harder and harder to channel that anger. The sessions my daughter had with Vicki were the highlight of her week for 10 weeks. She’s learnt to believe in herself a bit more and Vicki taught her some coping mechanisms she’ll be able to use again and again. I found the sessions so valuable I have just booked my 12-year-old son for the course too.
Julie –
My 10 year old daughter was struggling to sleep, struggling in school and we were struggling to connect as a family. We are only half way through her programme of sessions and already I see a big difference. Her sleeping is greatly improved, she does not always fall asleep exactly when she wants but is no longer worried about it. We received a call from school to say there has been a big improvement in her attitude recently and from our perspective she seems to be way more engaged. I am not sure school will ever be her favourite thing, but I am now open to the idea that the future is unknown and who knows she may love it some days! We as a family are way more connected. Thank you Vikki for allowing my daughter to be your guide and allowing each session to be exactly what she needed every week. xx
Vicki –
What an amazing review to read. Thank you so much for letting me know 🙂
Kim McFarlane –
My 12 year old daughter found herself struggling with the transition to High School – new social circles, pressure of tests from Teachers & finding her place in it all. She developed some worrying coping mechanisms, was anxious & wound up to breaking point. Despite reaching out to several mental health organisations for professional support, there was no availability. Vicki helped my daughter at a time when she needed it most & no one else, apart from us – could. She gave my daughter insights into her own wellbeing, allowing her to choose what was relevant & true for her & what she could simply choose to ignore. This has helped her immensely in her day to day life & interactions, & will, I believe give her a positive grounding for moving forward into her teenage years. We will be eternally grateful to Vicki for supporting us through one of our most challenging times as a family, being there for my daughter when her need was greatest & of course giving us a parents reassurance that we doing something to help our girl successfully navigate such a tricky time. Thank you Vicki x
Vicki –
What a beautiful testimonial! Thank you so much for your lovely words. I adored working with you all. xx