How we can support your child

If you are a parent or carer of a young person who is coming to SWEDA for support, you may want to know more about how we are working with your child. This page explains the services we offer to children and young people.

SWEDA offers a range of support services for children and young people with an eating disorder or who are concerned about someone with an eating disorder, including support and guidance sessions, counselling and support calls.

Watch the video to learn more about services and how we can help your family. 

What is a Support and Guidance session?

Anyone who contacts SWEDA for help will first be offered a support and guidance appointment with a Support Worker – it’s a free introduction to our services and the first step in working towards recovery. It's an informal chat that allows us to understand your child's situation and how we can best support them.

Support and Guidance sessions can help your child or young person to:

• Find out more about the support that's available through SWEDA.
• Assess where they are and what they want to do next.
• Help to identify the next step for them.

Once you or your child contacts SWEDA, we can make an appointment for them. Your child can visit our friendly offices in Shepton Mallet or meet with a Support Worker closer to where you live. Your child can also choose between attending a session in-person or online. We are usually able to offer a Support and Guidance appointment within two weeks. Your child is also welcome to bring someone with them for the appointment: this could be a friend, parent or anyone else that might help them feel more comfortable. The appointment is normally between 1 hour and 1.5 hours.

Having completed a Support and Guidance session, we will identify how to best support your child in their recovery. Options include 1-2-1 support calls or counselling with a specialist Children and Young People's Therapist or Support Worker. There may be a waitlist before we are able to offer counselling sessions to your young person: if this is the case, we will provide regular check-in calls to provide support to your child and monitor their condition.

What are Support Calls?

Support Calls are a low-level, short-term form of support consisting of 6 x 30 minute calls. These can be weekly or fortnightly. This might be the right service for your young person if they just need a little help to move forward or are not sure if they’re ready to undertake talking therapy. A specialist support worker will conduct the calls; your young person will agree with them what they want to work on during the calls. Examples of goals they may wish to work on include:

• Having some space to talk and be heard.
• Exploring their issue and decide whether they want to seek further help at this time.
• Exploring if they are ready to recover (this is always their decision).
• Learn more about eating disorders and how they are affecting them.

What is counselling?

Counselling is a kind of one-to-one talking therapy where your child will have the opportunity to talk about and explore their situation with somebody experienced in supporting young people with eating disorders. We offer non-judgmental listening and guidance, in a comfortable and professional environment. Your child will have the opportunity to talk about their feelings and emotions, finding ways to move forward. This might be in the form of ‘tools’ to help them in various scenarios or simply provide them with a chance to process any difficult experiences that have happened to them. Counselling helps your child gain an understanding of how they came to be where they are. It can help them learn more about their ‘triggers’ or finding ways to manage their distress when things are difficult.