At Wellspring we have a team of four qualified Wellbeing Practitioners. They have completed a year of training at the University of Exeter in order to be able to work with children and young people struggling with difficult thoughts and feelings.

They are trained in low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy interventions. This means they work to help you explore your thoughts, behaviours and emotions – and the link between them. Low intensity means that the support is suitable for mild difficulties and is not suitable for those experiencing more severe forms of distress, or those with high levels of risk to their safety.

How can we help?

We are trained to deliver guided self-help. This means we support you in learning and practising techniques and tools to help you with what you’re experiencing, empowering you to be able to continue to use these tools on your own after our sessions come to an end.

With that in mind, we offer short-term support for around eight sessions, each session lasting between 45 – 60 minutes. Throughout this support, you will be assigned the same Wellbeing Practitioner who you will typically see once a week.

With your Wellbeing Practitioner you will decide a clear goal which you would like to focus on which we will support you to achieve through various activities and worksheets.

What problems can we help with?

We are trained to work with a variety of difficulties, including:

• Low mood
• Worry
• Panic
• Sleep problems
• Stress
• Social anxiety
• Self-esteem
• Some phobias
• Anger
• Behavioural and emotional difficulties
• Difficulties self-organising

Other things we may be able to help with:

• Early signs of OCD
• Health anxiety
• Compulsive behaviours
• Self-harm (if not considered high-risk)
• Assertiveness/interpersonal challenging (e.g. bullying response)

Please note, our Wellbeing Practitioners are unable to work with those experiencing severe forms of distress or those with high levels of risk to their safety.

How to access this service:

Our Wellbeing Practitioners currently offer support at four secondary schools across North Somerset: Clevedon School, Backwell School, Nailsea School and St Katherine’s School in Pill.

We are looking to develop our community work and offer the service more widespread across North Somerset. During the summer holidays we have various options for community support. Please check Instagram (@wellspring_counselling), and Facebook (Wellspring Counselling) for updates.

OUR CURRENT SUPPORT DURING COVID-19

Support in schools

During the pandemic, we continue to work closely with the secondary schools that we’re usually based in (Nailsea, Backwell, Clevedon and St Katherines). We are receiving referrals to work remotely (via telephone and email) with children and young people. If you are a student at one of these schools and would like to access support, you can either contact us directly or speak to a member of the safeguarding team at your school. 

Support for the wider community 

We also have some offers open to anyone aged 11 – 18 living or going to school in North Somerset. These sessions will be carried out over the phone or online. These offers include:

• A wellbeing offer where we work through a self-care plan around the following areas:
  – Things I can do to relax
  –  Activities I enjoy
  – My support network
  – Things I’m good at
  – Other places I can go for help and apps that can help me
  – Things I can do to make me feel better

• Support for those experiencing symptoms of anxiety, such as feeling worried, experiencing racing thoughts, avoiding situations that make them worried, feeling sweaty, shaky or short of breath.

• Support for those experiencing symptoms of low mood, such as feeling tired or struggling to sleep, losing interest in things they used to enjoy, feeling like they just want to be alone, or struggling to concentrate. 

Please email Krissie to receive more information about the support available krissie@wellspringcounselling.org.uk.

Support for younger children and their parents

We are also able to offer support to parents/carers of children aged 5 – 12 years old who live or go to school in North Somerset. Like the sessions for young people, these are carried out over the phone, online or using a video link. The support available includes: 

• Support for parents of children who are displaying mildly challenging behaviour. This intervention is helpful if you would like support and help to understand this behaviour and learn strategies to encourage positive behaviour and reduce negative behaviour.

• Support for parents of children who are experiencing anxiety. This intervention builds on topics introduced in the book ‘Helping Your Child with Fears and Worries’ (Creswell and Willetts, 2019) and helps support parents to develop Cognitive Behavioural Therapy skills to help their child manage their anxiety. 

Please email Krissie to receive more information about the support available krissie@wellspringcounselling.org.uk.

Do I have to pay for sessions with a Wellbeing Practitioner?

Currently we are able to offer sessions with our Wellbeing Practitioners at no cost, thanks to the generosity of Trusts, donations, and fundraising events.

We understand that your family/carers may not be able to afford to donate anything for your sessions, but if you can, all funds donated will help us to continue to provide sessions for other young people locally who need our support.

Other ways you can support Wellspring Counselling include:
– Organising a fundraising event
– Volunteering your time and/or skills
– Following us on social media to stay up to date with our wellbeing tips, upcoming events, and ways to get involved
– Joining our feedback group where you can share your ideas on how we could improve the service
– Spreading the word and telling others about our support

For more information on how to support Wellspring, please email or call our admin team using the details on the contact page.

If you are interested in joining our feedback group, please email Krissie on krissie@wellspringcounselling.org.uk.