How our support works

How can getting support help you?

Counselling

All the counsellors at Time to Talk West Berkshire are qualified in person centred counselling; in person-centred counselling, the counsellor isn’t there to tell you exactly what to do. Instead, they are there to listen, accept you just as you are and help you find you own answers. The idea is that every person – including you – has within them the ability to grow, to figure things out and to feel better.

Because we recognise that different counselling approaches work for different people, our counsellors continue their training and learn different ways to support you. Instead of having just one ‘recipe’ for how to help you feel better our counsellors have many kinds of ‘tools’ in their ‘toolbox’. The counsellor will work with you to decide what kind of help you need and how you’d like to do it and which way feels right for you. This is called pluralistic counselling.

Recent scientific research shows that these aspects of counselling actually help our brains and nervous system to balance and heal:-

Identifying and naming your feelings
Being accompanied by a counsellor who is emotionally balanced
Making sense of your narrative/life story
Being understood
Mindfully reflecting on feelings and events
Learning tools to manage anxiety, anger & low moods
Observing your thoughts and feelings with a counsellor
Learning what causes dysregulation in you

Some of the things that young people have told us have been helpful in counselling are:-

Offloading
Talking about how I am feeling
Learning about why people might react to me in the way they do
Talking about stuff that happened & understanding it more
Talking about changing my self image
Learning ways to cope
Having a safe place to talk and feel my sad feelings without being judged or ‘fixed’
Learning more about my anxiety
Telling someone stuff I don’t want to tell my family and friends
Doing creative stuff that showed me different stuff about myself

Supported Online Programme

We can provide an online platform which uses CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) tools to address unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours. Modules are available for parents of anxious children and young people struggling with anxiety or low mood.

Available as a wellbeing app that’s tailored to you. It is a world-leading mental health and wellbeing platform that offers tailored support, expert advice, and self-guided resources whenever you need it. Simple to use, fully confidential and accessible 24/7, the programmes offer you a one-to-one digital experience suited to your personal needs anytime, anywhere. Like a therapist in your pocket, we want to get you back to your best self.

What users have said about their experience

It can be empowering to work through the programme
It gives you a space to reflect and stop from your daily stressors
The supporters are like your mentors that guide you
Writing about my feelings and naming them can be helpful
I learned some tools that can help me with the day to day anxiety and stressors