Starting secondary school: a guide for parents

by The Spark Counselling | Mar 11, 2022 | Children and Young People, education, families, mental health, parenting, relationships, Society, the spark, Tips, topical, young people

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...

How to cope with the winter blues – part 1

by The Spark Counselling | Jan 18, 2022 | counselling resources, couples, mental health, relationships, Society, the spark, Tips, topical

When the days start getting shorter and the nights longer, many people start to feel their mood drop. Unlike Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) – a form of clinical depression – the ‘winter blues’ is a general term for the feelings of sadness and lethargy we can all...

Christmas fun doesn’t have to cost a lot – stress-free Christmas tip 18

by The Spark Counselling | Dec 9, 2021 | Children and Young People, Christmas, families, parenting, relationships, Society, Stress free Christmas, the spark, Tips, topical

Christmas spending does not stop at presents and turkey. We now have plenty of ways to spend cash on Christmas family fun. But as tip 18 for a stress-free Christmas shows, Christmas family fun does not have to cost a lot. Throughout December we will be offering up...

The challenge of learning to trust others

by Janet Balcombe | Jan 27, 2022 | mental health, relationships, Society, the spark, Tips

The Oxford Dictionary defines trust as “a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something”. Right now, you probably have a list of names that come to mind of people you trust and, perhaps, people you don’t. But what enables us to...

Get some rest – stress-free Christmas tip 19

by The Spark Counselling | Dec 9, 2021 | Christmas, couples, couples and individuals, families, mental health, relationships, Society, Stress free Christmas, the spark, Tips, topical

Tip 19 on our countdown to a stress-free Christmas is really simple: get some rest! You can catch up on all 19 tips for your stress free Christmas on our website. Get some rest Christmas offers up a perfect storm of late nights and early starts. Which means getting a...

Say please and thank you – stress-free Christmas tip 17

by The Spark Counselling | Dec 7, 2021 | Christmas, couples and individuals, families, mental health, relationships, Society, Stress free Christmas, the spark, Tips, topical

Next up on our countdown to a stress-free Christmas is tip 17: say please and thank you this festive season. You can catch up on all 19 tips for your stress-free Christmas on our website. Remember to say please and thank you When a fellow shopper grabs the last ‘must...