Ages 3 to 18 · Manchester and UK-wide
Weekly counselling by video from your own home, with the same experienced counsellor families see in person in Manchester.
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Young Minds Grow offers online counselling for children and teenagers anywhere in the UK, by video, with Gitta Strassman MBACP. Sessions last 50 minutes at the same time each week, and times are flexible, including after school. Online works particularly well for teenagers and for children who find travelling or new places hard. We'll tell you on the free call whether it suits your child's age and needs.
Before the first session we send a link and check the set-up with you. A laptop or tablet in a private room works best, with headphones if others are in the house.
Children keep paper, pens, play dough or a few favourite toys beside them. They can draw and hold it up, build something and show us, or play a game with Gitta.
Before starting we agree with you where your child will be during sessions and who Gitta contacts if she is worried about their safety.
Online counselling for children is a weekly video session between your child and a qualified counsellor, held from home at a fixed time. At Young Minds Grow each session lasts 50 minutes and Gitta Strassman MBACP sees your child herself, every week, from the first session to the last.
We offer online counselling for children anywhere in the UK. The process is the same as for families who see us in person. It starts with a free 15-minute call, then a 50-minute meeting with you alone by video, then weekly sessions with your child and a review with you every six sessions or so.
Online sessions suit a lot of teenagers. Many will talk more easily from their own bedroom, with a familiar mug of tea and the option of switching their camera off for a minute if something gets hard. It also suits children who find travel or new buildings overwhelming, which includes many autistic children, and families who live a long way from a children’s counsellor they trust.
It suits some children less well. Very young children often struggle to stay with a screen for long, and the play materials in a real playroom matter more at that age. If your child is under about eight and lives within reach of north Manchester, we may suggest sessions at our clinic or in their school instead. Some families use online sessions for a few weeks while a child gets used to Gitta, then move to in-person sessions.
Online sessions are more active than people expect. A ten-year-old might spend part of the session drawing a picture of ‘the worst bit of Tuesday’ and holding it up to the camera, then making a model of their worry out of play dough. Another child might give Gitta a video tour of their Lego city and talk about who lives where.
Teenagers usually just talk, and Gitta follows their lead. She has worked with children and young people for 25 years, much of it with autistic and ADHD children, and she adapts online sessions in the same ways she would in person: movement breaks, shorter activities, or a camera pointed at the ceiling for a while if eye contact on a screen feels too much.
Your child needs to be somewhere they can’t be overheard, and we ask that nobody else is in the room unless we have agreed it. We use the same confidentiality as in person: you hear how things are going, not what your child said.
Before the first session we agree a safety plan with you, including where your child will usually be and who to contact if Gitta is worried during a session. If your child is ever in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E. For psychiatric care or medication, contact your GP, who can refer to your local CAMHS.
Gitta is a registered member of the BACP (no. 406991), DBS checked, fully insured and receives regular clinical supervision, wherever in the UK your family is.
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.
For many children, especially teenagers, online sessions work well and some find it easier to open up from home. For others, especially very young children, being in the room together suits better. We will give you an honest view on the free call.
It usually suits children from about 8 to 18. Younger children can sometimes manage it with a parent close by. Where a younger child lives within reach of north Manchester, we may suggest the clinic instead.
A laptop or tablet with a camera, a reliable internet connection, and a room where your child can talk without being overheard. Headphones help. A few art materials nearby are useful for younger children.
Yes. Online sessions are open to families anywhere in the UK. In-person sessions are at our clinic in north Manchester or in schools in and around Manchester.
Fees depend on how often sessions happen, and we explain them on the free 15-minute call. There is no obligation to go ahead after the call.
Usually not, because children talk more freely in private. It helps if a parent is in the house and available, particularly for younger children and at the first session.
Child counselling starts with a talk with you, then regular sessions where your child plays, draws or talks with the counsellor. What to expect, step by step.
Free printable: Questions to ask a child counsellor
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
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
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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