If your child has gone quiet, or school has turned into a daily battle, or something’s changed at home and they don’t seem like themselves, you’re usually the one who notices first. This page is for you: the parent or carer trying to work out what would help.
I offer in-person child counselling in Bude and across North Cornwall. I work with children and young people who are finding things hard, and I work alongside the adults who care for them, because the two go together.
When a child or young person is finding things hard
Children rarely arrive able to say what’s wrong. It shows up in other ways. School has become a battle, or they’ve stopped going altogether. They’ve grown withdrawn or anxious in a way that wasn’t there before. They’re unsettled after a loss, a move, a separation, or some other big change. Sometimes it’s a child in care, or living with a kinship guardian, carrying more than a child should have to.
You don’t need a diagnosis or the right words for it before you get in touch. If something feels off and you can’t quite name it, that’s reason enough.
How I work with children and young people
I work at the child’s pace, not mine. For some that means talking; for younger ones it’s often play, drawing, or making something, because that’s how they think out loud. I follow what they bring rather than steering them toward a fixed outcome.
My approach is relational and child-centred. I don’t treat a struggling child as a problem to be corrected. I take them seriously as they are, and I give them a space where they’re met, not managed.
Working alongside parents and carers
Children don’t come to counselling in a vacuum. They live inside families, households, and care arrangements, and the work goes better when the people around them are part of it.
At the same time, the child needs to know that what they say to me is theirs. So I keep what we talk about confidential, and I only share something with you when the child has given me permission to do so. The one exception is safeguarding: if I’m worried about a child’s safety, I’ll act on that. Children understand this better than adults expect, and knowing where the edges are is often what lets them speak freely in the first place.
Within that, I stay in contact with you: how things are at home, what’s shifting, what you need to understand. I’ve been a foster parent, and I’ve worked for years with children in care and kinship arrangements. If you’re a foster carer or a kinship guardian, you won’t have to explain the basics of how that life works. I already understand the ground you’re standing on.
In person in Bude and North Cornwall
I see children and young people in person for child counselling at Neetside Community Centre in Bude. This work is done face to face, in the room, so there’s no online offer here.
Families come from across North Cornwall: Stratton, Holsworthy, Widemouth Bay, Kilkhampton, Launceston, Camelford, and Boscastle, as well as Bude itself.
John Walter Counsellor Neetside Community Centre, Bude, Cornwall, EX23 8LB – 07501 222779
Why work with me
I’ve spent forty years around children and the people who look after them: child-centred teaching, foster parenting, work in a therapeutic community, and now counselling children and young people myself. That history sits underneath everything I do.
I’m an accredited registrant with the NCPS and I work to their ethical framework. Forty years in, what I bring to your child is patience, and someone who’s at ease with children who are finding life hard.
Fees – Children and young people
- £40 per session
I see children and young people weekly, in term time, with a natural break over the school holidays. I only take a small number of places for this work each week, so it’s worth getting in touch early if you’re thinking about it.
Common questions
Do you see children in person, or online?
In person only, at Neetside Community Centre in Bude. This work depends on being in the room together, so I don’t offer it online.
What happens in a first session?
It depends on their age. With younger children, that might mean talking, drawing, or playing rather than sitting and discussing things directly. With teenagers, it’s often closer to an ordinary conversation. Either way, the pace is theirs, not mine.
Will you tell me what my child says to you?
What your child tells me is theirs. I’ll only share something with you if they’ve given their permission, or if I have a safeguarding concern, which is the one exception. I’ll always explain that to your child too, so they know where they stand.
How often would we come, and for how long?
Weekly, in term time, with a natural break over the school holidays. Sessions are 50 minutes. There’s no fixed number; some children need a handful of sessions, others longer. I only take a small number of places for this work each week.
My child isn’t in crisis, they’ve just gone quiet. Is that still a reason to come?
Yes. Most children I see aren’t in crisis. They’ve gone quiet, or school’s become a battle, or something’s shifted since a loss or a big change at home. That’s exactly the kind of thing this work is for.
Not sure if it’s right for you? Let’s talk first.
The best way to find out whether we’re a good fit is with a free phone call. No cost, no pressure, just a chance to tell me what’s going on and ask anything you want before you decide. If it feels right, we book a first session from there.