The Spark Blog

  • From Home to Halls: A Mentally Healthy Approach to Starting Uni

    From Home to Halls: A Mentally Healthy Approach to Starting Uni

    Many university freshers are eager to move from home to halls and embrace ‘student life’ to the full. Moving out is part of growing up.  It plays a crucial role in personal development and allows you to have a lot more freedom. However, moving to a new area, starting a new course, finding new social…

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  • National Siblings Day: A Reminder to Reconnect

    National Siblings Day: A Reminder to Reconnect

    National Siblings Day, on April 10th, is a special day dedicated to honouring the unique bond that exists between brothers and sisters. Siblings are often the first friends we make in life. They grow up with us, share our childhood experiences, and witness the ups and downs of our journey through life. But sibling relationships…

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  • An Unconventional Valentine’s Gift

    An Unconventional Valentine’s Gift

    Although Valentine’s Day provides an opportunity for many couples to celebrate their love and commitment to one another, for others it can be a stark reminder that being in a relationship can be tough.  While flowers, chocolates and fancy dinners are all lovely gestures, what if there was a gift that can truly enhance your…

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  • 3 Exam Myths Busted

    3 Exam Myths Busted

    Exams are on the horizon for young people up and down the country. So we decided it was time to bust a few exam myths that can create unnecessary stress and anxiety before exams. Poor exam results will ruin your life Exams are a part of your development and growth as an individual. They are…

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  • Turning Bad Exam Stress into Good Exam Stress

    Turning Bad Exam Stress into Good Exam Stress

    Is there such a thing as good exam stress? If you are in your fourth or fifth year at high school, you may be experiencing exams for the first time. You will have had tests – and plenty of them – in the past, but this is different. Instead of sitting in a classroom surrounded…

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  • Starting Secondary School: A Guide for Parents

    Starting Secondary School: A Guide for Parents

    Starting secondary school can be daunting for children and their parents. To help smooth the transition, our team of children and young people counsellors have put together their top tips on helping your child prepare for starting secondary school. Ask: how are you feeling about starting secondary school? Every child is different when it comes…

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  • Scribble Game: How to Help Kids Relax and Open Up About Emotions

    Scribble Game: How to Help Kids Relax and Open Up About Emotions

    Edith Kramer, a pioneer in the field of Art Psychotherapy, created the ‘scribble game’ for use in the early stages of therapy. Her idea was to create an unthreatening way for children to express themselves and open up about emotional issues. In this article, Children and Young People Counsellor Sinead Rowe looks at how the…

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  • How to Help a Young Person Understand Their Intelligence Type

    How to Help a Young Person Understand Their Intelligence Type

    For young people, exams are the primary measure of their ‘achievement’. Exams define how we categorise our children and what level of ‘intelligence’ society considers them to possess. Anyone who has struggled at school will understand the negative impact it can have and how unfair it is to be considered as lacking intelligence simply because…

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  • What Young Adults Wish You Knew About Adolescence

    What Young Adults Wish You Knew About Adolescence

    During adolescence, the brain remodels intensively until the individual has reached their mid-20s. Up until that time the decisions, moods and emotions of a young adult are in a state of flux. The front of the brain – the prefrontal cortex – is the last section to be remodelled and is the part of the…

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