A MENTAL health expert has launched a new service in the dale to help bridge the gap between “wha”s available and what’s needed” for children and young people.
Teesdale Therapy, which has been set up by child psychotherapist Claire Hesketh, will complement her work as a schools therapist.
Ms Hesketh worked as a mental health nurse in the NHS across the North East from the early 1980s before taking early retirement.
In recent years she has
specialised in working with children and adolescents, undergoing enhanced training as a child psychotherapist.
“Increasingly, there is a gap between what’s available and what’s needed and children are falling into that gap,” she said. Ms Hesketh said mental health problems in children manifest themselves in a number of ways such as increased anxiety, poor sleep, a reluctance to go back to school, difficulty concentrating and youngsters feeling low and unhappy.
“All the literature and research points to a real exacerbation of mental health problems across the community, especially in young people,” she said. “There has been some investment in mental health, but it has never kept pace with what’s required – and then there has just been this big explosion in the last year.
“This has exacerbated problems in groups that were already vulnerable – financial worries have increased, domestic violence has increased.” As a result, children face up to a year-long wait for some mental health services.
It is against this background that Ms Hesketh decided to launch Teesdale Therapy, which is based at Enterprise House, on the Harmire Enterprise Park, Barnard Castle.
“I have not gone into this easily. I have given my whole career to the NHS but there is this gap and I think it’s the right thing to do because I have the expertise. Where people can’t access the NHS services, there are options to pay for it,” added Ms Hesketh, who lives in Barnard Castle.
Families who think they may be in need of help are welcome to contact Ms Hesketh for an initial chat after which an appointment may be made, or they may be directed to other services. She said young people were more likely to face up to mental health issues. “They are much more in tune with thinking about their mental health as well as their physical wellbeing,” she added. Ms Hesketh said she remains passionate about helping people with their mental health problems.
“People come to you at their lowest and trust you. It is a tremendous privilege to be a therapist,” she said.
For more details, contact Ms Hesketh on 07837 352856 or email teesdaletherapy@
gmail.com. A website is currently under construction.
Ms Hesketh works with children aged four to 18 and has undergone and enhance DBS check to work with children. Appointments are available after school and on Saturday mornings.
