Layla

When she began to attend mentoring sessions, 14 year-old Layla had been feeling very low for over a year since her grandmother had died. Her parents were particularly concerned that she spent her evenings and weekends in her bedroom and avoided spending time with them or her sister. Layla had also previously harmed herself by cutting her arms.

Through several mentoring sessions completing activities to build Layla’s self-esteem and encouraging her to express her feelings through journaling and drawing, Layla’s confidence increased considerably. This particularly showed in the fact that she was willing to talk to other young people at school that she didn’t know.

She said “being able to talk to my Pastoral Mentor and journal has made me feel less isolated and stressed, so I don’t need to cut now.”

Her mum phoned to say that they had had a lovely holiday where Layla had seemed to be a part of the family again. Layla’s transformation was also talked about by her teachers.

*Names have been changed and models have been used to protect the identity of young people.