Improving the mental health and building resilience of children and young people in our communities is one of The Junctions key aims. Through our engage@thejunctionservice The Junction provides: 1 to 1 support, children’s and young people’s counselling and a range of group activities.
This is what one young person said about the help they had had from The Junction
“ The Junction is……….the best service I have been to and I’ve been there longer than I’ve been with any other service!”-Young person.
What young people tell us is important is that they are not judged, services are accessible and confidential and they are about them and their families.
Having good mental health is not unique to children and young people, all of us have mental health!
Rethink Mental Illness clearly explains “what is mental health” on it’s website.
“There is often a lot of confusion about what we mean when we talk about mental health. Many people immediately start thinking about mental health problems or mental illness – but this is only one part of the picture…
Everyone has ‘mental health’ and this can be thought of in terms of:
Being mentally healthy is also about having the strength to overcome the difficulties and challenges we can all face at times in our lives – to have confidence and self-esteem, to be able to take decisions and to believe in ourselves.”
Mental health problems are increasing and affect many more young people than you probably. Children and young people have told us about their concerns about finding employment, uncertainty about their future, bullying at school, pressures to achieve, breakdown of family relationships.
Around 1 in 10 of all young people may experience a mental health problem or disorder where they may need help from a mental health specialist.
What does resilience mean?
The term resilience seems to be used for all manner of things, it seems to often come up from football managers and “pundits” about bouncing back from defeat. Pretty simple that one.
A quick search for a definition of resilience on the world wide web presents a zillion definitions, some make some sense, some are incredibly academic.
What do mean by Resilience? For The Junction building resilience is about empowering children and young people to rise above life’s challenges. Life throws many issues and problems for us all, children and young people are no exception.
“Many aspects of today’s society can be bad news for the mental health of children and young people in the UK. As they grow and develop, children have to navigate a complex and ever changing world, facing challenges and pressures in numerous aspects of their lives.” Young Minds
In our recent study young people have told us that they are concerned about the impact of unemployment, financial uncertainty, having low self esteem, family and peer relationships. For children under 16 there is the impact of bullying, living with social media in this technological age.
Why is building resilience and improving mental health in children and young people so important.
“With good mental health, children and young people do better in every way. They enjoy their childhoods, are able to deal with stress and difficult times, are able to learn better, do better at school, navigate the online world they grew up in so they benefit from it and enjoy friendships and new experiences.
Childhood and teenage years are when mental health is developed and patterns are set for the future. So a child with good mental health is much more likely to have good mental health as an adult, and to be able to take on adult responsibilities and fulfil their potential.” Young Minds
“The Junction is an outstanding organisation who go over and above their call of duty,” School Feedback
What can you do to if you’re concerned about children’s or young people’s mental health?
What to look out for
If someone is experiencing worries, anxieties and difficult feelings to the extent that they are seriously interfering with their everyday life, for instance:
and these feelings are becoming persistent, that is lasting for a few weeks or more, then it might be that they have a mental health problem or disorder and need to get some advice and help.
The top tip is to get help early, speak to somebody you trust and rely. Young people tell us that speaking with a trusted adult is incredibly valuable and important. This is where we are porud of the award winning at The Junction. We work in our communities, in schools and colleges making a difference.
As Young Minds put it;
“There is the old saying ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’ and sometimes you can feel better just talking to somebody about a problem. It may be that you are just having a bad day or it could be an ongoing mental health problem that you need support with, but the important thing is to not try and cope with everything on your own.”
The Junction-Improving mental health building the resilience of children and young people. For more information about oour we support children and young people or if you work in a school or college and would like to commission our services in please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on 01642 756000 or referrals@thejunctionfoundation.com Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/thejunctionfoundation.
T: 01642 756000
E: info@thejunctionfoundation.com
The Junction Foundation, Westfield Farm
The Green, Dormanstown
TS10 5NA
