THE PRESSURES of exams and family break-ups can severely affect young peoples' lives but the St Albans counselling service Youth Talk is here to help and will soon celebrate its fifth birthday.

Where friendly neighbours, stable families and church communities used to provide support, increasingly pastoral groups like Youth Talk are forced to step in and help young people in crisis.

Joint director Mr Steve Seaton said: "We feel that society is changing very quickly and old sources of support are not always there any more."

Founded in 1997, Youth Talk provides vital counselling for young people, from its Spencer Street base near St Albans town centre. It helps those dealing with problems such as bereavement, broken families and abuse.

Few young people may automatically think of counselling as a solution to their problems but Youth Talk works to raise awareness of mental health issues and to encourage the idea that these problems can be tackled through counselling, without shame.

An outreach worker forges links between Youth Talk and local schools in an effort to make teenagers aware of the help available to them. The group believes this work is essential to encourage teenagers to tackle their problems early before they become entrenched, causing longer-term mental health worries.

Mr Steve Seaton, a former deputy head teacher, is keen to change attitudes to counselling as a resource. He said: "Counselling can offer immense benefit for people who really need it. Many people may benefit from counselling of some kind during their lives."

Having started with just a handful of clients, the group now deals with over 50 youngsters, between the ages of 14 and 25, each week. The group has cared for over 400 clients in the past five years.

From humble beginnings, the community scheme has grown and is now anxious to expand to cater for the growing number of counselling needs. To ensure this expansion, more funding is urgently needed.

Dr Ida Fairbairn founded the organisation, believing there was a real need for a counselling system geared towards young people; a belief that was confirmed by teachers, GPs and youth workers in an investigative survey she conducted.

Judging by the popularity of the scheme, it would appear she was right.

December 19, 2001 14:00