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Welcome to Free to Be You Therapy Services, where we believe every young person deserves to be heard and supported. If you're between 8 and 25 years old, we're here just for you! Our team understands that these years can be full of changes, challenges, and opportunities. That's why we're committed to listening to you, understanding what you need, and helping you navigate it all in a safe and caring environment.
At Free to Be You, we use Person-Centred Therapy, which means we focus on what matters most to you. Whether you're dealing with school stress, friendships, or just figuring out who you are, we're here to help with a friendly smile and a listening ear.
Come join us at Free to Be You, where it’s all about you—your thoughts, your feelings, your growth. Here, you’re safe to explore, learn, and grow into your best self.
The Free to Be You Team
Thank you to Suzie B, the Free to Be You Young People's Media Mental Health Ambassador and Lead for her outstanding art and film work.
"Whenever I come here, I feel seen."
Client / Young person
Leah, our Founder and Managing Director is a Person Centred Counsellor, Psychotherapist, Supervisor, and Trainer. Leah works with children, young people, and adults.
Leah’s favourite colour is blue, but she describes herself as a colour lover.
Leah has two cats, Mia and Sasha (AKA Baby and Tedders). Leah’s favourite animal is an octopus 'I find them fascinating.'
Leah loves plants and gardening
In her spare time Leah loves to take photographs and go out into the Peak District.
Mal is a Person Centred Counsellor, Psychotherapist, and Trainer. Mal works with children, young people, and adults.
Mal’s favourite colour is pink
Mal’s favourite animal is the great white shark, he hopes someday to swim with one.
In his spare time Mal loves to play golf and cook.
This is Jo, our Art Therapist, Supervisor, and Trainer. Jo works with children, young people, and adults.
Jo’s favourite colour is green, but sometimes it’s red, it really depends on how she is feeling
Jo likes to dance, especially to Northern Soul
Jo has three cats Polly, Rosie, and Winnie
Jo is also a lover of plants
Katie is an Integrative Counsellor, Psychotherapist, and Trainer. Katie works with children, young people, and adults.
Katie’s favourite colour is blue
Katie has a black and white cat called Luna
Katie loves to run in the woods in her spare time.
Katie used to work on a farm and her favourite animals are goats
Sue is a Person Centred Counsellor and Supervisor working with adults and young people.
Sue’s favourite colour is turquoise
Sue likes walking in beautiful green spaces, gardening and recently has joined a choir
Sue has a cat called Jess. Her favourite large animal is giraffe.
Sue enjoys sharing time with friends and family.
Joy is an eclectic therapist although mainly Person-Centred and works with adults, young people, and children. She's also a trainer and Clinical Supervisor.
Joys favourite colour changes based on the weather and her mood – purple or magenta it depends 🙂 but then it could be turquoise or teal on another day.
Joy and her family foster cats and they have two both foster fails: Gandalf and Goose, who are now part of the family.
Joy loves to read, see theatre, and paint and often works creatively with clients using gardening, clay, playdough and more.
Niamh is an Art Psychotherapist. Niamh works with children, young people, and adults.
Niamh’s favourite colour is pink.
Niamh has a Labrador called Hobnob, Hobnob is her favourite animal.
In her spare time Niamh loves to bake and read books.
Niamh is a Trainee Art Psychotherapist.
Her favourite colour is lilac.
She has three ferrets. Merlin (albino old lady), Luna (silver middle child), Hex (dark youngest)
Mirriam loves being out in thunderstorms and in heavy rain.
Suzie is a volunteer Young People's Media Mental Health Ambassador for Free To Be You.
She works alongside our team, other professionals, such as our website and software creator Rocca Creative Thinking Limited, to consult and produce accessible, young people friendly media materials and resources.
My favourite colour is green.
I have a cat called Mow Mow.
My favourite animals are frogs.
In my spare time I like to draw.
Counselling has been useful because I can say more stuff than I would to someone else. Normally I’d lie about what’s going on because I’d be embarrassed. So, I’d go home and not tell anyone and it’d just be on my chest. So, it’s helped me to be more myself and be happier. I would suggest you give it a go if you need counselling.
Young Person – Secondary School
Here are some questions children and young people we work with thought you might like to know the answers too.
Counselling (Therapy)
Psychotherapy (Therapy)
Art Therapy (Art Psychotherapy)
Hello! Therapy is like having a friendly guide by your side when you're figuring out a tricky maze. Sometimes, feelings, thoughts, or things happening at home or school can make you feel mixed up, sad, or worried. In therapy, you'll meet with someone really understanding—you can think of them as a "feelings expert"—who listens to you, helps you understand your feelings better, and finds ways to make things feel easier. It's a safe space where you can share anything on your mind, sort through your feelings, and discover new paths to feeling happier and more confident. Just like a coach helps you get better at sports, a therapist helps you get better at handling your emotions and challenges.
Welcome to the colourful world of Art Psychotherapy! Where you have a space to create, play, and express yourself through art, all while discovering more about your feelings and thoughts. Art Psychotherapy is a special kind of therapy where you get to use drawings, paintings, clay, and many other creative tools to explore your emotions in a safe and supportive environment. It's like having a conversation, but instead of just using words, you use art! You don't need to be an artist or be good at drawing; it's all about expressing yourself and having fun while doing it. Our trained therapists are here to guide you through each step, helping you feel more confident and understood. So, whether you're feeling happy, sad, or anything in between, Art Psychotherapy can be a wonderful way to express yourself and make sense of your world.
Free to Be You offers one to one and group therapy
Face to Face therapy
Remote therapy – Online via Teams, text to text, or telephone
Walk & Talk therapy
You will be asked on the referral form you fill in with your parent, caregiver, or a professional you work with how you would like to access your therapist. Your therapist will talk to you more about this before and during your first session.
We are a private organisation so someone needs to pay for therapy.
You can ask for a 'check it out' session with one of our therapists. It's the first session some young people choose as a way of exploring with a therapist what therapy is, and whether it's for them. You can meet one of our therapists and ask them anything you need too. You will get to see the room you will potentially have therapy in. You can bring someone you feel safe with to a check it out session, it could be a sibling, parent, caregiver, another relative, or one of your workers from another organisation. Once therapy starts you will be in a confidential space with your therapist so you can talk privately.
Free to Be You therapists see young people and children in a range pf places. We may see you in your school, college, or university. We may see you at our base, Alison Business Centre. Your therapist will talk with you about the options available to you, this will depend on who has referred you to our service and who has paid. You will be able to talk with your therapist and decide together the best place for you to see or speak to your therapist. We also sometimes see clients outdoors for a therapy session called Walk & Talk, this will depend on the weather, and is only available at certain times of the year.
You can choose to have therapy online, this means you will see your therapist through the device you choose to use to access online therapy. You can access this from anywhere, but your therapist will talk to you about making sure you are in a confidential safe space where no one can over hear you if you decide to talk to your therapist in this way. We encourage you to use headphones if you access online therapy.
If you choose to have text to text therapy or telephone therapy, you will not be able to see your therapist, and they will not be able to see you.
Therapy sessions are usually weekly or every two weeks. Your Free to Be You therapist will talk more to you about this when they meet you.
Therapy sessions are usually either 50 minutes or 1 hour long. And if this amount of time feels too long, talk to your therapist as they will attune to what you need. For example, it maybe if you are very anxious and overwhelmed that a 30 minute session might be what you need to start with. We will work with you to build up to a full session.
Confidentiality means that what you share with us stays between us. It’s like having a private space just for you, where you can talk about your thoughts, worries, and dreams without the fear of them being shared with others. We want you to feel completely safe and supported when you speak to us, knowing that your privacy is protected. Remember, this space is designed for you to express yourself freely and honestly.
Any art work you produce in therapy is confidential too and will not be shared with others. We will store your work in a locked cabinet or cupboard, in a locked room. When your therapy ends, you will have a choice to take home your art work, to photograph it on a device or your phone, or you can ask for it to be destroyed.
Talk to your therapist if you have any questions about your art work, how it's stored and for how long.
When you fill in one of our referral forms alongside an adult if you are under 16 years of age, you will be asked about your availability, the more times and days you can identify as being a potential time to see your therapist, the quicker we will be able to start your therapy. Sometimes we have a waiting list, if this is the case we will be in touch with you as soon possible to arrange a session, when a therapist becomes available.
It is important if your contact details change that you let us know.
Coming to therapy is your personal choice. No one can make you see a therapist. If you do not want to be referred, try to tell the adult completing the form. And if this is difficult for you to do, talk to your therapist about this at your first session. We will explore this with you and help explain to the adult who has referred you that therapy isn't right for you at this time. We will not make you attend therapy if you don’t want to.
You can stop coming to therapy at any time, therapy is about choice and personal power. You can talk to your therapist about ending your therapy sessions. It is part of a therapist role to talk with you every so often about ending therapy, we usually refer to this as a review. Some people find it hard to tell their therapist they want to stop coming, if this is the case just drop us a text or email to tell us you want to stop coming if that is easier 07836 937 371.
Here are some examples of the areas of their lives that other children and young people have talked to us about.
Anxiety, Stress, Abuse, Bullying, Being Bullied, Cost of Living, COVID, Exam pressure, Death & Loss, Sleep, Harassment & Discrimination, Relationships, Divorcing Parents, Family & Home Life, Parental Separation, Low Mood, Neurodiversity, Sexuality, Identity, Self-Harming, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual Exploitation, Criminal Exploitation.
Young people talk about lots of other things too. Whatever is on their mind.
Specifically, the only times we may need to share information with others outside our organisation would be when we have reasonable course to believe you are at risk of significant harm.
Where there is a risk of harm to third parties. For example, we believe that a young person we are working with poses a risk to others, another child, parent or carer, or professional.
Where we receive information that relates to a terrorist act or an arson attack
Where we receive information that relates to drug trafficking or money laundering
We will always make every attempt to speak with you about any action we believe we need to take, including sharing information with others. We will only ever share this information with appropriate services where necessary, for example, parents, caregivers, or safeguarding.
If you are worried about what might get shared you can always talk to your Free to Be You therapist or get in touch for more information at [email protected]
We understand that not everyone has the means to access private therapy.
If this is you, please do still get in touch. Our staff will help signpost you to other services that can offer you the free support you need.