Jessica Hughes

My working days are Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Sessions are available after school . 

My name is Jess, I am a psychotherapeutic child counsellor based in Hertfordshire. I have 15 years experience of working therapeutically with children and Young people . As a registered mental health nurse working in CAMHS and as a school counsellor for 5 years . I trained at the Institute for arts in therapy and education. I have paediatric first aid training and I am registered with the DBS update service . 

I can offer counselling to children aged between 4 and 17 years who are struggling with their mental health, need support to cope with life events and/or want to gain self confidence. I provide a welcoming and safe space for a young person to be themselves and express how they are feeling in a way that is accessible to them as individuals . As an integrative counsellor, I am informed by traditional perspectives as well as contemporary evidence based research. 

Parent consultation and reviews do not compromise the child’s privacy . The intention is to support parents for the benefit of their child or teenager. 

I use creativity to enable relationship building and communication. For younger children, play therapy,  using puppets, figures, objects, games,  art materials and stories can all be effective in helping a young child speak about what is troubling them . For older children and teenagers, image,  metaphor and sensory tactile creativity such as clay can help them find the words to express and make sense of their experiences. In addition to the therapy room, sessions can take place in nature at a suitable outdoors location. For example a nearby nature reserve or woodland area . 

An initial e mail or text enquiry followed by a brief telephone conversation with one or both parents . To discuss the parent (s) or carers concern and explore whether this is the right service for their child . This is free of charge.  

An initial parent consultation is the next stage for background information about the child’s developmental history and current challenges that prompted their need for counselling. This meeting can take up to an hour and a half . 

Therapy sessions with the child or teenager can begin after the parent consultation .