The CYP (Children and Young People) part of the Brighton & Hove Wellbeing Service is delivered by YMCA DownsLink Group.

What is counselling?

Counselling offers a confidential, non-judgemental and safe space to talk about your life and how you are feeling (your emotional wellbeing).

Sometimes it is hard to know how you are feeling, so your counsellor will help you with this. They won’t tell you what to do. Instead, they will help you to talk freely about what's bothering you, in order to uncover any root causes and help you work out how you are feeling, thinking and responding to the situations you share with them.

Your counsellor can help you to see your own strengths and support you to create a plan of action to help you work on your difficulties, find better ways of coping, or find your own way forward.

Do you have any specialist counsellors?

We have counsellors who specialise in working with young people who identify as/with:

ASD/LD: Autistic spectrum disorder or learning disability
Being part of Global Majorities groups (Black, Asian, mixed, Indigenous or Latin American descent)
LGBTQI+: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex.

How many sessions will I get?

If we feel that Counselling is the most appropriate support for you at this time, you would be offered 6 counselling sessions, which take place at the same time and same place each week, with the same counsellor.

Can I have more or less sessions?

Together you and your counsellor will review your counselling journey, usually at the mid-point (session 3). If you wanted to end counselling earlier, we would always advise having an ending session. Session extensions will be reviewed case by case, and based in clinical need, where there may be an extension of 1 to 4 sessions. Please note it is not possible to have more than 10 sessions as we are a short-term service. You counsellor would be able to discuss other options for you if you wanted more support afterwards.

Who is counselling for?

Children and young people with mild to moderate mental health needs who would benefit from a counselling approach. Counselling can help people who are feeling low, anxious or stressed to understand more about their feelings and make plans for how to feel better.

Where do sessions take place?

Sessions can take place online via video or face-to-face in Hove (at the Dialogue Centre, 65 Blatchington Road or Reed House, near Palmeira Square).

How long are the counselling sessions?

The session are for up to 50 minutes. Some people may feel that 30 to 40 minutes is a more suitable time. This can be discussed with your counsellor.

Can I bring my parent/carer into the counselling session?

The counselling session is just for you. (There may be times when you may like your parent/carer to pop into the start of the session and this would be ok.)

Do I need to bring anything to counselling?

You do not need to bring anything to the counselling session but if you would like to share something with your counsellor such as a photo or drawing. You are welcome to bring this along.