I have had a fantastic week in school and have seen three of my students complete and sign off their objectives. It is such a rewarding experience seeing the difference coaching makes to young people and the change it brings in their approach to life.

All three students had confidence, self-esteem, panic and anxiety struggles as well as emotional  confusion regarding anger, frustration and lack of choice or control.

Taking a holistic approach, we initially discussed all areas of their life from health, relationships, school, fun and contribution goals to career aspirations. The students were able to identify areas for improvement and put a strategy together to successfully achieve their goals.

Building a toolbox of strategies for each student was essential in order for them to overcome panic and anxiety. These strategies then require lots of practice to determine which ones work for each individual student and which ones they want to use in the future.

Finding out what they are good at both in and out of school is a great exercise and switches the focus to what they can do rather than what they can’t. It also tells them what they need to do more of to increase their happiness and experience that positive sense of achievement. This enables them to build confidence and self-esteem and identify their particular talents and skills.

Working with young people has also enabled me to learn so much about their world. I have been exposed to lots of new music, some of which I really enjoy. My knowledge of social media and technology is also increasing. Finally, understanding the pressures young people are under from home, school and their peers means I can be familiar with their world, build a relationship of trust and increase the probability of them opening up to me.

Before signing my students off I ask them to complete a student feedback form. The comments I received this week confirmed to me again why coaching is such a productive approach for young people:

• Your sessions are very natural and relaxed and you don’t tell me what to do
• I now feel happier talking about my feelings/emotions
• I am so much happier and want to smile more
• I now realise that I do have choice and control in my life
• Being able to open up without being judged
• I have enjoyed working with Kathrine it’s made my confidence boost
• Kathrine has helped me to be a changed/better person
• I feel that I have been taught how to deal with life
• Planning and preparation is the key to success

If you know someone who needs coaching to assist them with a particular issue then please contact me.

It has been a very busy week at work and at home but there is light at the end of the tunnel! Tuesday saw the last of my daughter’s GCSE exams and the release of revision pressure. What a lovely feeling to have the rest of the summer to wind down and chill out following a very intense school year. It has certainly relaxed our whole household and I had not realised how it had impacted on all of us.

Discussing her GCSE experience, my daughter told me about what my husband and I had done to help her stay calm during this last term:

• Leaving her alone, not coming into her room when she was working and respecting her space
• Easing off on household chores
• Organising fun things to do with family and friends to break up intense revision sessions
• Understanding her stress levels and not provoking her

She also said that her school had taught her that:

• Planning and preparation is key to keeping stress levels to a minimum
• Revision timetables definitely work
• Information is easier to memorise if it is based around fun facts
• It can be useful to peer-chat about the exam afterwards as long as you do it in a sensible and pragmatic fashion

Constructive feedback for me regarding future exams, is to be more aware of ‘where’ she is revising and to consider noise levels when putting on music or the TV to avoid distracting her. On reflection she felt her GCSE experience had not been as stressful as she was expecting. I will take that as a positive and successful result.

Now putting all that aside, BRING ON THE FUN!

We are now planning fun things to do over the long summer holidays. This kicked off yesterday with an Indoor Karting experience with friends at F1K in Berkshire to celebrate the end of the exams. Wow, what an experience and a great time was had by all. The adrenalin was certainly flowing and we have the bumps, bruises  and aching bones today to prove it. I have not been Karting for 17 years and had forgotten how exciting it was and did frighten myself a few times but it was definitely worth it.

Changing our focus from revision to fun by having a variety of different activities to look forward to will certainly reduce pressure and stress levels as life returns to normal. The quicker they return to normal the more benefit they will get from the long summer holidays.

Enjoy your summer holiday freedom, use your time wisely, go and try something new, laugh and smile lots and be happy in whatever you choose to do.

If you know of someone that is still struggling with panic and anxiety please contact me.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to Reading University this week to attend a presentation on Anxiety and Depression in Children and Young People by Professor Shirley Reynolds. There were two presentations, one aimed at parents and carers and the other, which I attended, was for teachers and other professionals working with young people. The event was very well attended which was excellent but on the flip side it highlighted to me the growing concern regarding anxiety and depression and the increasing numbers of young people experiencing it.

The presentations looked at the differences between anxiety and depression (A&D) and how they can go hand in hand but actually need to be treated in different ways. Anxiety usually starts in the early years and depression follows later on. One in ten children can suffer with A&D at some point in their development.  Excessive anxiety needs to be picked up and this can be identified when:

• Fears grow out of proportion
• Fear persists even when the threat is absent
• Children avoid or stop doing things they enjoy in life

Depression is more difficult to spot and can often be missed. Core symptoms are:

• Long term low mood/irratibility (2 weeks or more)
• Sleep problems
• Change/lack of appetite
• Suicidal thoughts/tendencies
• Low opinion of life
• Low energy
• Feelings of failure in life

A&D children will always focus on the negative bias, they feel they are less capable and the future is not exciting. Their A&D often gets overlooked because they present as quiet and well behaved children who are not disruptive.

Avoidance of their fears will certainly prolong their problems. To enable young people to overcome their fears, parents, carers and teachers need to:

• Encourage independence and problem solving
• Effectively question young people when they ask for re-assurance and invite them to expand what they have already done for themselves (coaching them to achieve success)
• Encourage curiosity
• Use praise when necessary and don’t overdo it

So what predicts A&D?

• Biology/Genetics – can run in the family
• Environment – life events, triggers, learning
• Relationships – can be too protective

There are lots of resources out there to help parents and teachers work with A&D, some of these are:

MindEd – Elearning programme specifically for teachers/carers/police/social workers

IAPT programme

Charlie Waller Memorial Trust

Overcoming Your Child’s Fears and Worries (Book by Cathy Creswell and Lucy Willetts)

Feel free to contact me with regards to coaching young people with Anxiety and Depression.

Coaching young people means that my working week is never predictable or dull and I am constantly surprised and sometimes amazed by their achievements. I am currently working with a student who has serious home life issues which I will not talk about  here.

What has surprised me has been the impact on this student’s attitude.  While I might have expected the  situation to have a negative impact, it has actually caused her to focus on school work and revision which has driven a high standard.  This determination and resilience, coupled with or in spite of the situation, means she is on target for excellent results in upcoming exams.

Often, I am engaged by schools when behaviour, results and engagement have already taken a turn for the worse, so I was very pleased to be brought in before any of these issues had arisen.  It certainly allowed my work on motivating and supporting the student to find her own development path to have an impact.

Bringing her own determination and resilience, I am sure that the school’s proactive approach to their student will be rewarded.

You can also be proactive – contact me.