The Spark Blog
Category: Families
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Social Media & Self Image
One of the common problems presented by school pupils to our counsellors is the tricky issue of social media. Children and young people are the section of our society that first embraced social media platforms. The highs and lows of social media They have been the first to experience the highs and lows of social…
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Songs For Sound Minds #18 – Benjamin Clementine
Songs for Sound Minds are our picks of the best music that uplifts, inspires and boosts mental health. Songs written as an anthem to overcoming the storms of life. The songs that give hope in those times when we are struggling. This weeks song tackles the subject of bullying. ‘Phantom of Aleppoville’ by Benjamin Clementine…
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Pupils Come First with Counselling
The Spark is at the forefront of efforts to improve the mental and emotional wellbeing of school pupils in Scotland. It is widely recognised that a child’s ability and readiness to learn can be compromised by difficult life experiences. Through counselling and education programmes we are helping schools manage the emotional and mental wellbeing of…
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The Need for Emotional First Aid
When we experience aches, pains or a chesty cough where do we head? Straight to our local doctor of course. When it comes to emotional pain – guilt, loss, loneliness – what do we do? Most of the time we try to sort it ourselves. We (try to) keep calm and carry on. Instead of…
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Dementia and Its Impact on Relationships
According to the Alzheimer’s Society around 900,000 people in the UK are living with dementia. The impact of dementia on sufferers and their carers is deeply upsetting. In particular the effect on their relationship is a very emotionally and mentally painful feature of this illness. The symptoms of dementia and the inevitable loss of the…
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Parents’ Guide to Exam Results Day
Being a parent of a teenager is tricky at the best of times. High school exams are barely over when attention turns to the next stress-triggering milestone: exam results day. Parents can end up just as distressed as the kids who sat the exams. The near constant squeeze on prospects for an increasingly disadvantaged millennial…
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Male Postnatal Depression is Real
Male postnatal depression has long been considered in the same terms as man flu. Reactions can vary from a raised eyebrow to thinly veiled contempt when the subject is broached. Familiar gender stereotypes entrench the belief that a dad ‘can’t get’ postnatal depression because of their limited role in pregnancy, childbirth and the early months…
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Life Hacks for Mental Health – Part 3
In the final part of our life hacks series we are looking at how doing what you are good at, keeping in touch and asking for help can set you on the path to good mental health. Catch up on part 1 and part 2 of the life hacks series. 7. Do things you are…
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Infant Mental Health Before Birth
There is no denying that the mental health of children and young people is in decline. Last week further data was released confirming more children and young people are requiring support for mental health issues. Worse still NHS therapeutic services are struggling to meet government targets of 18 weeks from referral to accessing support. In…
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