Ryan struggled to cope after his friend died. The 14-year-old found it hard to concentrate in lessons and ended up taking time off school.
He began to see a BACP-registered counsellor from TIC+, a service that offers counselling for children and young people in Gloucestershire, including in schools.
And Ryan described how speaking a counsellor had an immediate impact for him.
“My first session was quite good because I got a lot off my shoulders. I felt more confident straight away. I knew I wanted to go back because he helped me a lot.”
He continued to see the counsellor, who also helped him find coping strategies and breathing techniques.
Ryan added: “I could tell him about anything that would happen and he'd listen to me.
“Now I'm much more confident. I could do things which I didn't think I could do when I had that pressure on me.”
Watch Ryan talk about how his counsellor helped him.
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School counselling in England campaign
We believe that a paid counsellor should be available in every secondary school, academy and FE college in England.
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How you can support our school counselling campaign
Sue Pattison and Maggie Robson, joint Chairs of BACP Children, Young People and Families division, ask you to support our campaign for a paid counsellor in every secondary school, academy and FE college in England
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'Counselling allows you to reach that lightbulb moment.'
Jake, 17, visited his school counsellor for help when everything got too much for him