Emma's Story | Mentoring

Emma* was on a long waiting list for CAHMS support. Her mum was concerned about her wellbeing and school attendance and needed urgent support in place for Emma. 

We immediately placed Emma with one of our specialised mentors.  Within a couple of sessions Emma felt safe enough to reveal to her mentor about several attempted overdoses which her family did not know about and that she had been regularly self-harming. Together they put in place coping strategies to recognise when she was feeling low and who to turn to for support. 

After one particular session, Emma’s mentor was concerned for her safety and facilitated Emma seeing a doctor. In addition, Emma’s mum was supported to follow up on the Doctors appointment and discuss further counselling services with us.  

A few weeks later, Emma felt that she had come a long way in terms of her mental health and she was starting counselling sessions soon. She was worried about her GCSE exams and finding a job, so they decided this would be a good focus moving forward.  

Emma and her mentor met alongside her counselling, they focused on decided they would see each other once every two weeks, to compliment her counselling; they began focusing on organising her revision to prepare for her exams and working on her CV. 

Emma’s words: “My mocks went really well; I exceeded my target grades and was offered a place for the college course I wanted. Mentoring is like having a supportive polar bear on the ice when you are learning to skate.’’ 

Comments from Mentor: ‘’From struggling to attend school due to a mix of wellbeing challenges, to seeing Emma successfully get into college to study A-levels. Young people can thrive if listen to, believed in and from having a relationship they can trust at a time of turmoil in their lives. It was pleasure to see her thrive and a privilege to have helped.’’  

*Names have been changed to protect identities