Starting the conversation
We understand that life can be hard, but believe accessing support shouldn’t be! Here at the Isle of Wight Youth Trust, we have almost 40 years of experience supporting young people, just like you, through difficult times.
The first step – and often the hardest – is reaching out for help. We are here to try and make that process as easy as possible for you. It is important to know we are not a crisis service…
If you or someone you know is at immediate risk of harming themselves or others please refer to our Help in a Crisis page.
So how can we help?
The Isle of Wight Youth Trust offers you the opportunity to talk in private about any issues or problems you may be having, to help you try and find a way forward, through difficult times. Our service is completely free for any young person aged 5-25 living on the Isle of Wight. If you are over the age of 13, you can see us without your parents knowing (if you don’t want them too) it is your choice. If you are under 13, we will need to speak to your parent/guardian’s to get their permission for you to attend.
When you make a referral to us, our team will assess your support needs, you will then be offered the most appropriate support for you. This may include support through our group Wellbeing Programme, workshops or one-to-one support, in some cases we may refer you to a more appropriate service.
Confidentiality
What is said between you and the Youth Trust will not be discussed with other people (including parents, teachers, friends or anyone) unless you give your permission. The only exception to this is if we are concerned about your safety or the safety of someone else. If you have attended counselling a brief report is usually sent to your GP, which will give an outline of the issues covered and any recommendations for further support if needed.
ReFrame
As part of our commitment to ensuring young people are able to get the right information and help earlier, when it is needed, our wellbeing programme ‘ReFrame’ delivered in conjunction with The Isorropia Foundation is a rolling programme for 16-25 year olds designed to build resilience, promote positive thinking and help you to reframe your mindset.
This rolling programme of support will cover topics such as; building confidence and self-esteem, mastering anxiety and emotional management. Click here for more information
1:1
We offer a wide range of one-to-one therapies for 5-25 year olds. So, whatever you have going on, and however you want to work through it, we have something for you. We provide counselling, IAPT CBT and guided self-help – Through our triage and assessment process, our experienced team will work with you to identify the most helpful type of therapy for you.
Mental Health Support Team
The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) is a new service funded by NHS England, Health Education England and partners. On the Island the service is being delivered collaboratively by the Isle of Wight Youth Trust, Barnardo’s and the IOW NHS Trust.
The aim is to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people by supporting schools with their Whole School Approach (WSA) to emotional health and wellbeing within their school community and identifying and treating mental health issues early.
There are members of the team based in every secondary school (excluding Ryde School, St Catherine’s, St George’s and Priory) on the Island, as well as some of the primary schools.
Find out more about MHST and how to access support from them.
Counselling is an opportunity to discuss any difficult feelings or experiences in a safe and confidential environment. Counsellors do not advise but help you to understand your problems by encouraging you to share your thoughts and feelings and guiding you to understand them.
Your Youth Trust counsellor will work with you to explore ways of finding a positive way forward, treating you with care, consideration and respect. Here at the Youth Trust, we use professional, qualified counsellors who have lots of experience supporting young people such as yourself through difficult times.
CBT stands for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy – it is a type of talking therapy.
It is used as a way of helping people to recognise when they are having unhelpful thoughts and how to see it from a different angle by encouraging the person to problem solve and see the situation from a different perspective. CBT doesn’t look at the cause of the problem, but looks at the issues you are currently experiencing. It can be very effective with young people suffering from different types of anxiety including OCD, Social Anxiety, low mood and depression. It usually starts with some open questions…
What is the main problem you would like help with?
Could you tell me in your own words what is difficult for you at the moment?
What else is difficult?
Then more closed questions will follow…
Can you tell me more about it?
What is it like when you feel worried?
What do you feel in your body?
Do you feel a funny feeling in your tummy?
You can read more about CBT at the Youth Trust in this blog.
Guided self-help is a low-intensity therapy which helps to focus on and understand the link between thoughts & behaviours, and how these may impact on feelings. Our Wellbeing Practitioners will support you to work towards an agreed goal and learn coping skills for dealing with different problems and situations. Guided self-help uses elements of CBT and is particularly useful for those experiencing anxiety and low mood.
