Youth in Mind

Who can get support?

Anybody who:

• Is aged between 10 and 25 (support starts from school year 6)
• Lives, works or studies in Leeds
• Is struggling with their mental health because of very difficult, frightening or distressing experiences (also known as trauma)

1-to-1 support

• Up to 8 sessions of personalised support.
• Can be in person at a venue of your choice, online (e.g. Zoom/WhatsApp call), on the phone, by WhatsApp message, or a mixture of these – it’s up to you.
• Flexible timing with daytime and evening options – doesn’t have to be the same time for every session.
• Can be weekly, fortnightly, or tailored to what you prefer (e.g. starting weekly and then gradually increasing the gaps between sessions)
• Focus on whatever is most important to you (e.g. building confidence at school or work, forming positive relationships, dealing with intrusive thoughts)

Group support

• 6 to 12 months of support.
• Groups are drop-in – there’s no need to book. If you’re not getting 1-to-1 Youth in Mind support, you’ll have one 1-to-1 chat with someone from the team before starting group support.
• A safe space to talk with people who’ve also had very difficult, frightening or upsetting experiences – but no pressure to talk if you don’t feel like it that day.
• A range of activities decided by the group – ideas so far include crafts, games, yoga, trampolining, walking, cooking and more!

Who designed Youth in Mind?

We’re really grateful that at least 69 people with personal experience of trauma as a child or young person helped to design Youth in Mind, including 59 people who are currently within the age range of 10 to 25. We also had extremely valuable input from parents and carers of young people experiencing trauma. A huge thank you to everyone who helped.

We would also like to thank all the organisations supporting young people in Leeds and beyond who gave their time and experience during the design of the project.