The Youth Trust has been working on the Isle of Wight for over 28 years and has made a positive input to the wellbeing of people locally. The Trust is a charitable, independent organisation offering counselling, advice, information and support services to young people aged 25 and under on the Isle of Wight and, in some cases their parents or carers. The services provided are delivered by an experienced and qualified team who follow the National Guidelines for Counselling, offering a fast, flexible and confidential service to young people who are experiencing difficulties.
Here’s the story of Alice, aged 15, who has been helped by the Trust.
Alice’s parents were finding it difficult to remain together and were frequently arguing. Her Father had recently had an affair and as the family had strong religious beliefs the ramifications of this affair were felt throughout the family. She had two much younger siblings, one of whom had special needs and as such required a great deal of Mum & Dad’s time. Alice was very un-happy at home, she felt isolated, and spent most of her time in her own bedroom, she had a few friends, but no-one who she felt she could trust to tell exactly how miserable she felt. She was scared by her parents continuing arguing, worried that they might split up and how this would then affect her relationship with her Father, who she was particularly close to.
Alice was also struggling with her sexual identity, she had confided in one close friend who Alice felt was shocked by her revelation and subsequently their friendship changed significantly. Alice had been self-harming for the past three months before she came to counselling. Her Mother had noticed scratches and scars on her legs and arms, was extremely concerned about her and took her to her GP who referred her to the Youth Trust for counselling.
Together we talked through her feelings in relation to her parents arguing and she was able to offload her anxieties and concerns. After a couple of sessions Alice disclosed to me the difficulties she was feeling about her sexual identity, this was the first time she had spoken to an adult about this. Through the support of counselling Alice was able to find less harmful ways of managing her difficult emotions, she desperately wanted to tell her parents about all her concerns but she was very worried how they would react. Counselling gave her the opportunity to talk this over and we explored in depth how it would be for her to talk to them.
After the counselling sessions Alice’s mood was very much improved, she was no longer self-harming, she had managed to talk to her parents about how worried she was by their arguing, and she had also decided to talk to her parents about her sexual identity. Her Father was extremely supportive, and her Mother was slowly, but positively, dealing with her daughter’s openness and honesty.
Cowes Classics Week participants are invited to make an online donation on this website whilst entering or booking socials.
You can learn more about the trust from the official website www.iowyouthtrust.org
