How to support school leavers with their mental health
The idea of leaving school following exams might be an appealing prospect at first, but for those who have relied upon the assurance of a timetable and the familiarity of the school buildings, change may not be as welcome as originally thought.
For sure, there are many young people who will be glad to move on, but if no plans are in place, the realisation of adult life can be overwhelming. Simply adjusting to the autonomy of not being bound to a regimented week can leave young people overwhelmed; it can be a shock when the realisation sinks in that no one is there to motivate them through the day.
While structure can be learned, the change in friendship groups is something which young people may not have experienced. It is easy as an adult to dismiss the importance of such peer groups, but this may be the first loss to be experienced – and that may further impact on the negative notion of change.
Resilience and an understanding of hierarchy is a huge part of this experience. Some young people are ready to face the world, but others are simply ill-prepared, and this leads to the question, ‘who is responsible’? It could be suggested that parents are responsible for preparing their children for life changes, or maybe the education system needs to put more emphasis on managing the expectations of school leavers?
These fears can build up, not only for a young person but also for parents and this anxiety can lead to disagreements; conflict is not helpful when change is difficult to adjust to. Mediation between parent and child is a good start, this allows both sides to share their views on how they see the next few months. Face to face counselling can also help by allowing a young person to work through their fears with someone who is non-judgemental and impartial.
Working through the fear of what is ahead will often call upon solution focused and behavioural counselling techniques; easing the young person into new and positive ways of viewing the world, while also empowering confidence and self-worth to commit to the changes. There is no ‘off the page’ timeline as each person will have unique resilience and tolerances. The main consideration from a counsellor’s perspective is to work at a pace which the young person is comfortable with. Occasionally, when a parent is paying for counselling, they make demands on time and can sometimes become frustrated after a set number of sessions if they cannot see progress is being made. It is important to remember that despite whoever is paying for the session, the person in the room is the client and confidentiality applies to them; it would be unethical and prohibitive to ‘feedback’ progress and session notes to a parent.
At Active Listening Therapies both Louise and Duncan have experience working closely with young people. A large proportion of the client base is taken up with counselling in several schools within the Newark and Sherwood region so they are aware of the current issues, concerns and fears facing young people and can relate to circumstances including family and peer group, life choices and personal development. If you would like to discuss how counselling, mediation or peer mentoring can be of benefit to you, send your details through the contact page or click here.
