Ages 3 to 18 · Manchester
For the child whose worries have started to decide what the family can and can't do.
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Counselling helps anxious children understand what their worry is about and find ways to cope that work for them. At Young Minds Grow we see children aged 3 to 18 in Manchester, using play and creative activities with younger children and more conversation with teenagers. Parents are involved from the start, with a meeting before sessions begin and reviews every six sessions or so. Sessions can be at our clinic, in school or online.
Younger children might make their worry out of clay or pick a figure for it in the sand tray. Once a worry is something you can look at and move around, it becomes easier to talk about.
Anxiety often shows up as a racing heart, a tight tummy or hot hands before a child has any words for it. We help children spot those signals and find something that calms them.
We don't push children into the thing they fear most. Together with you, we plan small, manageable steps and celebrate each one.
Reassurance feels like the kind answer, but it can keep a worry going. At parent reviews we talk through what to say instead.
Counselling helps an anxious child by giving them a regular, private time to work out what the worry is about, and to practise coping with it in small steps. A worry that has been sitting inside a child for months often loosens once they can show it to someone and see that the adult isn’t alarmed by it.
We offer counselling for anxious children in Manchester from age 3 to 18. Gitta Strassman has worked with children and young people for 25 years, and anxiety comes up in a great many of the families she sees, often alongside autism, ADHD, a big change at home or trouble at school.
Child anxiety often looks physical before it looks like worry. Parents describe stomach aches that arrive at 8am on a Monday, a child who suddenly needs the toilet as you reach the school gate, or a seven-year-old who wakes at 3am and can’t say why. Others notice behaviour: refusing to go upstairs alone, melting down when a plan changes, or getting angry when the real feeling underneath is fear.
Teenagers may hide it better. They might stop going to football, spend lunchtimes in the library or stay in their room, and when you ask, say they’re fine. Some anxious children go quiet in particular places, most often school, while chatting away at home.
Sessions last 50 minutes and happen at the same time each week, which helps anxious children because they know exactly what is coming. With a younger child Gitta might start with a game or some drawing, and only later, when the child is ready, ask about the worry. Some children like to make a ‘worry creature’ in clay and decide how big it is this week. Others build the school playground in the sand tray and show which corner they avoid.
Older children and teenagers usually talk more. We look at the thoughts that come with the worry, what their body does, and what they have started avoiding. Then we pick one small thing to try before the next session, such as staying at the school gate for two minutes longer or answering one question in class.
Parents of anxious children are often exhausted from answering the same question twenty times a day. It is natural to reassure, and it usually helps for a moment. Over time, though, the worry learns that it gets an answer, so it asks again.
Before your child starts, we meet you for 50 minutes on your own to hear the whole picture. At the reviews every six sessions or so we talk through what to say instead of reassuring, how to handle mornings, and how to back your child when they try something hard. You won’t hear the detail of what your child tells us, but you will know how it’s going.
Counselling suits most children whose anxiety is affecting everyday life. If your child has panic attacks that frighten you, has stopped eating, is hurting themselves or talks about not wanting to be alive, see your GP, who can refer to CAMHS. In an emergency, call 999 or go to A&E.
Our clinic is in north Manchester, and families come from across the city as well as Salford, Bury and Whitefield. For a child too anxious to travel, sessions in school or online are often the easier way to start.
At our clinic in north Manchester, in your child's school (arranged with the SENCO or pastoral team), or online by video anywhere in the UK. Times are flexible, including after school. Gitta is MBACP registered (no. 406991), DBS checked and fully insured, with 25 years' experience working with children and young people.
Lots of children go through worried patches. It is worth getting help when the worry lasts for weeks, stops your child doing ordinary things like school or seeing friends, or starts to affect sleep or eating. If you're not sure, describe it to us on the free call and we'll tell you honestly what we think.
No. We are integrative counsellors, so we draw on more than one approach depending on the child. With some children that includes practical techniques for worry, but for younger children most of the work happens through play.
That is common, and there are options. Gitta can see your child in school, where the building is already familiar, or online by video from home. We can also plan the first visit to the clinic with you so there are as few surprises as possible.
At our clinic in north Manchester, in your child's school (arranged with the SENCO or pastoral team), or online anywhere in the UK. After-school times are available.
Fees depend on where sessions happen and how often. We go through them on the free 15-minute call, and you don't have to commit to anything.
Speak to your GP, who can refer to CAMHS if needed. If your child talks about wanting to die, has hurt themselves or you think they are in danger, call 999 or go to A&E straight away.
Consider counselling when a change in your child's mood or behaviour has lasted weeks and gets in the way of school, sleep or friends. Signs to look for by age.
Free printable: What I'm noticing: a checklist for parents
School refusal is when anxiety or distress stops a child getting to school. Steps for parents in England: what to ask school and the SENCO, and what helps.
Free printable: School meeting planner
How to tell your child about counselling, with example words for ages 3 to 18 and the phrases to steer clear of, so the first session feels less daunting.
Free printable: My first session: a picture guide for children
Tell us what's been happening and ask whatever you like. If we don't think we're the right people to help, we'll tell you who might be.
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