"The theme for Children's Mental Health week this year is 'Growing Together'. The focus of this week will be to encourage children (and adults) to think about how they have grown, and how they can help others around them grow too.
"At METRO, we provide 12 free counselling sessions to those aged 8-18 who identify as LGBTQ+ and live in any London borough. Counselling sessions are there for young people to return to each week to talk about their feelings and share what's going on in their life. Both counsellor and client will sit and reflect together in a safe space.
"Growing Together is a topic that is often spoken about in counselling particularly growing emotionally. Young people often think about how challenges they face can in fact help them grow and adapt. Feeling stuck can sometimes be part of the process, and growing can look different and happen at different paces for different people.
"One young person reflected in their counselling session: 'I feel like counselling has given me a space to grow, I felt so stuck before but now I feel more comfortable with who I am and my identity. I am proud of being non-binary and love to express myself through the different clothes I wear'."
Jess Russell, Counselling Project Lead for Young People.