We are pleased to be able to offer a Young Persons Counselling Service in collaboration with Rareminds. This is a free, confidential service for UK MPS Society members which can be accessed online or by telephone. This service is for individuals between the ages of 16 and 25 years of age.
Please contact your MPS Society Support and Advocacy Officer if you feel that this is a service you may benefit from.
Rebecca Hargreaves
Our MPS Society Young Peoples counsellor is Rebecca Hargreaves, provided for us through Rareminds.
I am a professionally trained counsellor and Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
My early career was in nursing, and then more recently (since 2016) as the Clinical Lead in a school Counselling Service working primarily with 11 to 18 year olds.
I also have a BACP post-graduate Counselling Children and Young People Proficiency and have been working with rare diseases since 2019.
Extra support for young people
YoungMinds are a mental health charity for children, young people and their parents, making sure all young people can get the mental health support they need.
Rare Youth Revolution is a global news and opinion, digital magazine platform, dedicated to powering up the voices of the youth rare disease community. They also have a Facebook Community.
Papyrus is for young people under 35 in crisis or feeling suicidal. They run a young persons helpline (HOPELINEUK) on 0800 068 4141 (open 9am - midnight every day of the year) or you can email pat@papyrus-uk.org.
Frequently asked questions
By offering a reliable and confidential relationship to talk through whatever is troubling you. It can offer support during difficult times, or in making sense of present difficulties that may stem from past experiences, or fears about the future. Counselling can help you find ways of understanding and managing difficult feelings, or dealing with situations differently.
It can also help you with strategies for managing specific issues such as panic attacks, fatigue or anxiety around scans/treatments.