3 exam myths busted

by The Spark Counselling | Mar 31, 2022 | Children and Young People, counselling resources, education, families, mental health, the spark, Tips, topical, young people

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. Exam myths busted #1: poor exam results will ruin your life Exams are a part of your...

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 help a young person understand their intelligence type

by Hayley McTaggart | Feb 10, 2022 | Adolescence, Children and Young People, education, mental health, parenting, the spark, Tips, young people

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...

Turning bad exam stress into good exam stress

by The Spark Counselling | Mar 17, 2022 | Children and Young People, education, exam stress, mental health, stress, the spark, Tips, young people

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...

Scribble game: how to help kids relax and open up about emotions

by Sinead Rowe | Feb 15, 2022 | Children and Young People, mental health, parenting, the spark, Tips, young people

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...

What young adults wish you knew about adolescence

by Hayley McTaggart | Jan 31, 2022 | Adolescence, Children and Young People, families, mental health, parenting, the spark, Tips, young people

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...