Youth Mentoring & Coaching

Often in young people you find that their self esteem and confidence has taken a dip, that they have become withdrawn, or find that they don't enjoy the things they used to. In a world where social media plays such a big part in the lives of our young people it is difficult for them to deal with the realities of life that are sometimes hard and can leave them with a ‘why me’ attitude, or trying to live out some of the roles of certain music stars. Young people often seek out approval from their peers and more often find that all they want is to be popular. Some of our young people are willing to do whatever it takes to be popular or worse to be feared. In an ever changing and sometimes scary world, I work to build up the self confidence and self belief in every young person I work with in a positive and motivational way. I encourage self evaluation, reflection and accountability which helps to encourage who I work with to become the very best version of themselves.

It’s about changing the narrative and focusing on the good and the positive, and enabling each person to give things a try and open doors they had only dreamt of.

GCSE, A levels and exams in general breeds a sense of anxiety in some, and this can often present itself in a negative behaviour response. At Arte-Sara I aim to work with students to find strategies and exercises to help and support them through times when anxiety is high.

The mentoring programme is a fantastic programme that empowers mentees to develop coping skills and strategies for the future. This will help them resolve issues in a sensible way without a negative reaction, as mentoring helps individuals acknowledge appropriate boundaries and their strengths. Each block of sessions are tailored to match the individual attending. Mentoring really does empower self belief and understanding of others, their opinions and thoughts as well as providing awareness of educational, community and economic resources and support available to them and their families. Through the mentoring programme each individual will begin to develop life skills and start to set and achieve specific goals.

Having worked in the education system for over 10 years I have experienced first hand how underfunded the system is for the mental health and wellbeing of our children and young people. Often students find school overwhelming and it is difficult to regulate in an environment that doesn't allow the time to regulate.

Sometimes it feels as though everyone else is doing well inside and outside of school, and that can feel deflating if it feels as though it's not going the same way for you. Alternatively it could be outside factors that trouble you which cause a disengagement between peers and support.

As a youth coach I allow the young person I work with to speak openly about some of their likes and dislikes and what their goals are. As a coach I will work out a plan with my client to build that goal into a reality, helping each individual believe in their own abilities and build confidence in themselves and what they can achieve. This could also be integrating back into a school environment, or accepting a school environment.

In these sessions clients are taught techniques to build resilience, balance and emotional and behavioural regulation. Youth coaching is different to counselling as coaching is more about finding strategies to work in order to support that young person fulfil their full potential.