Support specifically for young children and teenagers
There are lots of places and resources you are able to turn to help and support, but often it is hard to know where to look. This page will help direct you to resources you may find useful. It consists of apps recommended by the NHS and other websites that can provide help and resources.
In addition, the Health and Wellbeing Centre is available for students and can be called during the day on 01444 893292 or e-mailed at medical.centre@ardingly.com.
If you click on any of the icons below a pop-up window will appear providing more information about the organisation.
It is an incredibly difficult time and you are not alone in your feelings. Nothing replaces talking to someone so we strongly suggest speaking to teachers, House staff, tutors, nurses, parents and friends should you be struggling.
Please note the information contained is lifted from the NHS or organisations website. Although Ardingly College’s wellness team feel that they provide useful information, they cannot endorse them.
Blue Ice - Helps young people manage their emotions and reduce self harm
Mental Health, Child Health
BlueIce is an evidenced-based app to help young people manage their emotions and reduce urges to self-harm.
It includes a mood diary, a toolbox of evidence-based techniques to reduce distress and automatic routing to emergency numbers if urges to harm continue
Who is it suitable for?
BlueIce is suitable for young people attending mental health services who are self-harming.
How does it work?
BlueIce has a mood wheel to track your mood and lets you add notes on how you’re feeling or what you’re doing. You can use the mood diary to see patterns and identify triggers.
The app offers a personalised set of activities designed to reduce distress including a music library, photo library, physical activities, relaxation and mindfulness exercises, and spotting and challenging negative thoughts.
If you want to talk, the app allows you to click on one of three options to either talk to a selected person in your phone contacts, ChildLine or 111.
How do I access it?
BlueIce is a prescribed app designed to be used alongside face to face care provided by mental health services.
Learn to relax, manage your worries and improve your wellbeing with Chill Panda. The app measures your heart rate and suggests tasks to suit your state of mind. Tasks include simple breathing techniques and light exercises to take your mind off your worries.
Who is it suitable for?
Chill Panda is for children and adults who want to learn how to manage stress and worry and feel better.
How does it work?
Chill Panda uses the camera on a smartphone or other mobile device to capture your heart rate.
The app uses your device’s LED light to measure the volume of blood flowing through your fingertip as your heart beats.
Chill Panda asks you to rate your mood to work out your current emotional state.
You are then encouraged to take part in a variety of playful tasks and activities, including breathing and light exercise.
hill Panda is not a medical device and heart rate measurements are shown for guidance only.
How do I access it?
Chill Panda is free to download from the App Store and Google Play. The app works with mobile devices that have a camera.
The MeeTwo app provides a safe and secure forum for teenagers wanting to discuss any issue affecting their lives.
You can anonymously get advice from experts or other teenagers going through similar experiences in areas such as mental health, self-harming, relationships and friendships.
Who is it suitable for?
Teenagers facing issues they’d like to discuss with experts or other teenagers.
How does it work?
With MeeTwo, you can post messages about any issue you’re struggling to cope with.
You’ll receive supportive responses from other teenagers and guidance from MeeTwo experts designed to build confidence, increase wellbeing and improve emotional resilience.
Every post and reply is moderated to make sure only positive feedback is published.
The app contains advice and information on a variety of subjects, as well as a directory of specialist support groups that can offer further help.
How do I access it?
MeeTwo is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.
A free safe and anonymous place for young people to find online support and counselling. There’s a bunch of features and tools to support you if you are looking for advice of simply not feeling your best
The Young Minds website includes sections on identifying feelings symptoms and conditions. It gives advice where to get help and look after yourself. There is also a section specifically for parents.
There is a dedicated page for looking after yourself during coronavirus. https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/looking-after-yourself/coronavirus-and-mental-health/
Their purpose
To stop young people’s mental health reaching crisis point.
Every young person whose mental health ends up in crisis is a young person who has been failed. We know that the earlier young people can access the right help, the more likely it is that they can avoid these crises.
Their mission
To make sure all young people can get the mental health support they need, when they need it, no matter what.
Whether they need a reassuring conversation, specialist mental health support, or simply the knowledge that they are not alone in how they are feeling, we will make sure that all young people get support that meets them where they’re at as quickly as possible.
Talking to your child about Coronavirus
Tips for coping with OCD during the crisis
Coping with an eating disorder during the Coronavirus pandemic
Looking after your mental health while self-isolating
What to do if you’re anxious about Coronavirus
Coronavirus: Impact on young people with mental health needs,
Parents’ tips for looking after yourself in lockdown (
Shout 85258 is a free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope.
How Shout 85258 works
Their trained volunteers are there for you 24/7 to listen and support you to get to a calmer and safe place. Shout is a free, confidential, anonymous service for anyone in the UK. It won’t appear on your phone bill.
To start a conversation, text the word ‘SHOUT’ to 85258.
The Mix is the UK’s leading support service for young people. They are there to help you take on any challenge you’re facing – from mental health to money, from homelessness to finding a job, from break-ups to drugs.
Talk to them via the online community, on social, through our free, confidential helpline or our counselling service.
There is expert advice on numerous topics including ‘how to deal with Corona anxiety’ and ‘a guide to coping with loneliness during lockdown’.
Supports mental health in teenagers. The website provides information on anxiety, depression, self harm, eating disorders and additions, offering information, resources and help for teenagers, friends, parents and others.
They also produce the following apps
- Calmharm Calm Harm is a free app to help teenagers manage or resist the urge to self-harm.
- Clearfear Clear Fear is a free app to help children and young people manage symptoms of anxiety.
- Movemood Move Mood is a free app to help teenagers manage low mood and depression
- Combined mind Combined Minds is a free app to help families and friends provide mental health support.
Head Meds, part of Young Minds aims to give young people straightforward and reliable information about mental health medication from a trustworthy source.
HeadMeds is not pro- or anti-medication. It just gives young people the facts, including answers to questions like ‘can I still drink alcohol?’ and ‘will it make me put on weight?’
The website also offers information about mental health conditions and real stories about young people’s experiences of mental illness and taking medication
https://youngminds.org.uk/youngminds-professionals/our-projects/headmeds/
The Teen Sleep Hub is the one stop shop for all you need to know about sleep.
If you’re looking for advice on how to sleep better, would like tips on tweaking your routine or help to understand the science behind your sleep patterns, you’ll find it all at here.
The Teen Sleep Hub has been kindly funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund (administered by the charity, Mind, in partnership with the Mental Health Consortia) who understand how important sleep is for good mental health.
Dr Radha Modgil made a short film of 5 mental health tips for lockdown in 2020 (for BBC Newsbeat)
The Blurt Foundation’s article ”To the person who feels alone in this” may help anyone who’s suffering depression or feeling down about the new lockdown
The standard response to ‘I’m alone’ is ‘no you’re not’. We know how frustrating this can be. Often, we’ve heard ‘you’re not alone’ so many times that it has lost all meaning.
When we feel isolated, being told that we’re not alone doesn’t usually fix the situation. It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve been told it, the issue is often that we don’t believe it. Sometimes it feels like it’s a sentence used to stop us talking, rather than giving us the space we need to feel and talk about the stuff we’re going through.
Thanks to Dr Pooky Knightsmith for this advice
Routine
Establish a routine, this may be a new routine during lockdown, doing similar things on a daily basis helps keeps some things like anxiety and depression at bay. Incorporating self-care into that, having a balanced healthy diet, taking care of your hygiene needs, taking regular exercise and a maintaining a good sleep pattern are all important.
Stay connected.
To maintain connections with friends, family and work colleagues, to strengthen contacts online, virtually and using social messaging will enable you to not feel completely isolated.
Take a break from worrying.
Switch off the news, take a break from scrolling news feeds on the net, do something mindfully for a period, reset, get lost in something else for a time.
Control our worries.
Make a list of your worries, look at ‘if this … then I will do that’ scenarios. Look at the list and identify which ones you can control and which ones you cannot.
Make positive plans for the future.
There will be a time beyond this, look forward to this time and make some positive plans for 6 months/12 months’ time.