Teen says counselling was reason for GCSE success

Islay, 17, sought counselling after struggling with academic stress

A teenager says she would not have done as well in her GCSEs if she did not seek counselling.

After struggling with academic confidence and panic attacks, 17-year-old Islay sought help from Mitcheldean charity TIC+ (Teens in Crisis), which is rebranding to Talk Well.

After doing much better than she imagined in her GCSEs, Islay is now at sixth form, and says it is "really lovely" she can help her friends manage their anxiety with techniques she learnt at counselling.

Claire Power-Browne, CEO of Talk Well, said the charity's rebrand was important to let "everyone know who we are and how to access us".

Islay, from Cheltenham, said her anxiety became a "daily thing" leading up to lessons she did not enjoy.

"I never confronted how to deal with it and the feelings got more intense leading up to the exams, and one day at school I just thought, 'I need to talk to someone'."

Islay went to her form tutor, who put her on a short waitlist for Talk Well.

She said the counselling was "a very open space" for conversation.

Working through triggers

"I think an apprehension was that my struggles weren't overly extreme, so I thought that might be an awkward barrier but it really wasn't."

Islay said she still performs breathing techniques she learnt in counselling and now shares them with friends.

Without counselling, Islay said: "I would have done a lot less revision and, therefore, not done as well.

"It's been interesting noticing the same triggers and I still find myself thinking back to counselling and work through them."

Islay now plans to go to university and study international relations and Spanish.

Ms Power-Browne said no problem for Talk Well is "too big or too small"

Ms Power-Browne said the rebrand to Talk Well was due to confusion regarding the name.

"We offer free counselling and support for nine to 25-year-olds and what we found was that children and young people thought they had to be a teenager or be in crisis before they reached out to us for help," she said.

She added no problem is "too big or too small" for the charity.

"If it's bothering you, it bothers us and we want to help," she said.

If you've been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.