A year 11 pupil came to see me at the end of school today. I'm aware that she's having some MH problems (judging from some cruel jibes I've heard bandied around by other students). She told me today that she suffers from depression, is currently on fluoxetine and has received CBT from a local youth unit. She has felt ok in recent months, but a recent party (alcohol, crushed feelings seeing her boyfriend kiss someone else) has pulled her right down.
I tried to support her as best I can - but I'm no expert. I want to offer her hope. I want to offer her a light at the end of her tunnel. She's such a lovely, mature child, socially bright and very perceptive. I want her to look to her future with hope and to know that something positive can come out of her experiences and trauma.
At the moments, all she can think about is the stigma, and the darkness and the jibes by other pupils (she's mental, psycho etc). I want to help her see past that but while I am motivated to do so, I'm not trained and i don't want to make things worse.
Please - any advice for me would be really appreciated.