The participant identifies as a 16yr old trans male. The participant was referred by a professional after struggling with low self-esteem and confidence. They’re currently going through the process of transitioning from male to female and facing lots of questions over identity.

They were referred to Dorset Mind’s Young Person’s Active Monitoring service. Through the service, they have learnt to utilise management techniques to support their mental wellbeing including positive thoughts, mindfulness, breath, and body soothing activities.

The participant found learning more about anxiety and the brain very helpful. After completing a 6 week’s session of active monitoring, the participant felt more confident in themselves and became more engaged in activities to support their mental health such as positive self-talk.

The participant, aged 18yrs old, has just moved to student accommodation for university. Therefore, accessed counselling sessions online.

The participant increased in confidence throughout the sessions, which was noticeable with eye contact & being more open in talking about her feelings.

The participant’s mood did go up & down throughout the sessions. This enabled opportunities to work on coping skills & work on maintaining a positive mood.

Tasks were set to help overcome anxious situations, which were successful overall and helped them to feel more confident. Sleep routines improved, which had been a difficulty helped to improve moods.

The participant attended a large social event which was a milestone for her, and although was anxious was very happy she had achieved this.

The participant is 14yrs old and identifies as agender. The participant was struggling with their relationship with their father and showing signs and talking of abandonment issues.

The participant enjoys art projects and shows a good understanding of mental health issues. The Young person spends a lot of their time on Snapchat talking to friends. This affects their sleeping patterns.

The young person was referred to Dorset Minds’ Mentoring Mind’s service to work on self-esteem issues, jealousy, confrontation, and attachment issues.

The young person has started to accept compliments from others by saying, “Thank you.”

The young person appreciated having a non-judgmental space where they could talk about their feelings.

The YP was left with referrals and encouragement to engage with Kooth. The YP has been in contact with CAMHS and has started sessions with them since finishing Mentoring Minds sessions at Dorset Mind.

The participant is 14 years old and has academically doing well at school. She is sensitive when people comment on her appearance. The participant was referred to Mentoring Minds to help improve her self-confidence when around others.

From attending sessions, the young person became more open and confident. She has also become more confident in managing her time and stress. Additionally, she has made several new friends at school during her time accessing support through Mentoring Minds.

The young person was willing to explore her feelings and emotions and make a remarkable improvement. She found that our service is very helpful to her because it allowed her to talk about things she finds it difficult to talk about with her family and friends.

The participant (aged 14) was referred to Dorset Mind’s young people’s counselling support service. The participant attended 8 sessions of counselling. She presented a loss of confidence affecting both school attendance and participation in activities/hobbies.

She was experiencing panic attacks and a general loss of self-esteem. Her family reported that previously she had a cheerful and lively personality, but this was no longer the case.

She described to our counsellor a sense of foreboding dread at the thought of attending school. Her experiences had been exacerbated by the pandemic and the stop/ start routines of school over the previous year and a half.

Our counsellor helped the participant to develop a range of anxiety management strategies including breathing exercises to calm the onset of panic and through small goal setting, including the creation of a self-soothe box and personalised visualisations for relaxation.

The participant is a 38yr old male and was referred to Eco in Mind after reporting feelings of loneliness and low mood. The participant works nights and no current active interests or close family or friends.

Attending the Big Yellow Bus at Shillingstone with Eco in Mind; the participant started with watering in the poly tunnels and weeding. They planted peas in rows. On one session he attended at Shaftesbury planting herbs and salad vegetables.

Sharon worked together with him to plan out his own allotment. He also attended a nature-based art session. He enjoyed the session planting Yew trees.

The participants WEMWEBS have increased by 15 points in 4 weeks.  He seems happier and feels connected to the local community through the activities at Eco in Mind. He feels the session give him a sense of purpose and meaning alongside a sense of achievement. 

The participant is keen to progress to a volunteer for Dorset Mind’s Eco in Mind service at The Big Yellow Bus Project and or Shaftesbury in Bloom.