Scotty’s Little Soldiers has expanded its services to include specialist bereavement counselling, enabling the charity to offer a higher level of emotional and mental health support to children, young people, and their families.
Through its SUPPORT Programme, Scotty’s has long provided 1:1 bereavement support to children and young people who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces. As the charity has grown and has seen a rise in young people with complex needs, Scotty’s has enhanced its provision by appointing an accredited counsellor to join its existing SUPPORT Programme. This development reflects Scotty’s commitment to ensuring every bereaved military child, young person, and their family can access the support that is right for them.
Bereavement support is not the same as bereavement counselling. Different people will need different levels of support. Most children and young people will have their emotional needs met through family and friends. Others may need the opportunity to talk to someone with bereavement training – this is bereavement support. A smaller number require something more specialist. “If your emotions are so intense that you feel you cannot go on, or if you are struggling to cope with your day-to-day life in the way that you did before, then you may need to see a bereavement counsellor.” (Marie Curie)
Scotty’s decision to introduce counselling follows a rise in serious emotional and mental health challenges among its members. Recent reporting showed that 25% of children and young people accessing the charity’s bereavement SUPPORT Programme had experienced thoughts of suicide or were self-harming. So far this year, Scotty’s has supported over 780 bereaved military children, young people, and their families, and the charity is determined to ensure that those presenting with more complex needs can access high-quality specialist help from fully qualified BACP or BPS (or equivalent) accredited counsellors.
To deliver this enhanced provision, Scotty’s has appointed accredited Integrative Counsellor, Nicola Norton, who brings extensive experience of working with young people, including roles at a charity and a secondary school supporting under 25s at difficult times in their lives.
Nicola said:
“I am delighted to be a new member of the Scotty’s team. One thing I have never taken for granted is the bravery of the young people who I have had the pleasure of working with over the years. It is not always easy to reach out for help at difficult times and talking about our feelings can be tough, but when we do it can make the world of difference. Scotty’s bring together and support families in such a fantastic, heartwarming way and I am incredibly proud to be a part of this team!”
Rachel Scott, Head of Service at Scotty’s, said:
“Introducing accredited counselling is an important and positive step for our community. We’re seeing more children and young people present with complex emotional needs, and it’s vital that those who require specialist support can access it safely and from fully qualified professionals. Nicola’s appointment allows us to offer a higher level of care while continuing to provide the bereavement support our families know and trust. We want every bereaved military child, young person, and their family to have access to the support that helps them feel safe, understood and able to move forward.”
Thanks to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCFT) for funding the bereavement counsellor role at Scotty’s, enabling military families who have experienced a bereavement, or have received a pre-bereavement diagnosis, to benefit from counselling support, should it be needed, in addition to other support available through Scotty’s Family Programmes.
Thanks also to Annington which has a been major funder of the SUPPORT Programme since 2019.
