The idea
Every child should be able to develop and thrive, and feel safe in their world. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case.
In Kent, it’s reported that 20,625 children are living in households where a parent is suffering domestic abuse. Over 85% of children who witness DA develop trauma symptoms.
The impact can be catastrophic.
Traumatised children can feel that the world is an uncertain place, becoming socially-isolated, anxious, angry, violent, frightened and powerless. Negatively affecting their relationships, education and future potential.
Specialist early-intervention support, like ours, is vital to minimise these effects. Survivors need consistent 1:1 support with a trusted adult to confide in to process and heal.
We are proud to provide free counselling to children & young people from age 5-18, with no limit on amount of sessions. Can you help us address the devastating effects of domestic abuse, heal the trauma, and give the young people the happy and healthy future they deserve?
What we'll deliver
- Pay for a qualified counsellor’s salary to deliver 258 sessions of 1:1 counselling to children & young people age 5-18
Why it's a great idea
This project will deliver an impact in the life and future potential of a traumatised child. It will address the devastating effects of domestic abuse, whilst providing preventative support to break the generational cycle of abusive relationships.
Counselling is a safe space where children and young people make sense of the trauma they’ve experienced, their emotions and behaviour. Our highly qualified and experienced counsellors provide specialist 1:1 therapeutic support to children & young people who live in the Canterbury, Ashford and Folkestone & Hythe districts.
Each child is offered 12 weekly sessions, which can be extended, and usually delivered face to face at the child’s school to minimise disruption. In addition, our counsellors can bring awareness to the adults around the child, their family and teachers, about the effects of trauma, and how behaviour deemed as problematic is a child’s way of coping with experiences, plus advice on how to support them to feel safe.
Steps to get it done
- Offer counselling sessions to children and young people
One of our counsellors shared ‘Amy’s’ story:
“Prior to counselling, Amy was struggling with extreme anxiety, self-harm, and feelings of anger. We had a total of 18 sessions together in which we focussed on helping Amy feel safer within herself. This involved space for her to explore her past experiences and help her make sense of how the past impacts her now. We were able to make connections between some of her behavioural responses, like self-harm, and how this was a reaction to the past trauma she had experienced. We then explored finding techniques to help her develop a feeling of safety.
Using different techniques, such as breathing and visualisations she was able to explore her feelings of anger and make sense of this. At the end of our sessions Amy's use of self-harm as a coping mechanism had decreased as she had begun feeling safer inside herself and with the outside world and she had more tools to enable her to process the anger and strong emotions she had been feeling.”
