I have been a Childline Counsellor for about three and a half years now and it has been one of the best things I have ever done.
I applied for Childline when I was 16, had my interview a few days after my 17th birthday and then trained for 3 months, becoming a counsellor just before Christmas in 2016. Since I was 14 I have been working with vulnerable people and as I am sure most of you in the UK have, I had seen posters for Childline everywhere in school and out and about. Mental health is such a big thing now and people are becoming more aware of the mental health of themselves and others and at 16, one day I thought 'I want to be involved in supporting young people who need a chat or to simply be listened to and maybe make a small positive difference in the world'. I looked up Childline online: how to apply, what skills a person needs, and what kind of commitment they are after and I thought 'right lets do it'.
I don't really remember the whole application process but I do remember it being easy. It wasn't something I struggled with and this was the first thing I had ever really applied for. Before now I had walked up to places with my CV in hand and just introduced myself and asked if I can help out, simple as that (if you can, I do recommend actually going to the place you wish to volunteer at and introducing yourself but more on that in another blog!).
On the day of my interview, my family all came with me and walked around town whilst they waited. I have such a supportive family and I am so lucky. This is the first interview I had ever had and words can't describe how nervous I was. A member of the Childline team came to welcome me, introduced themselves to me and took me into a room with both themselves and a volunteer counsellor. I can't really explain what I felt in this moment but as we began to talk, my nerves disappeared and I felt like I belonged. I had gone from a shaking mess in the waiting area to actually feeling quite confident and enjoying the interview. They were so so lovely and really put me at ease. They asked me character based questions about previous experiences I had working with the public, how I managed different situations and what I had learnt from negative experiences. They were all questions everyone would be able to answer in one way or another, nothing to trip you up. Childline were really good and they told me when I was at the interview that I had passed to the next stage.
I had three months of training after this and I met some lovely people! Over the three months, we learnt about the counselling model, how to deal with certain situations, what to and what not to say. I think a good example of of something you learn not to say is the word 'why?' This word tends to sound accusing to a young person and could perhaps make them think that what what they are feeling is in some way wrong. Instead of saying 'why do you feel upset' we might say 'I imagine this was upsetting for you, could you tell me a bit more about how this made you feel?' It is so simple but at the same time something you don't really think about. We also practised our counselling skills on each other through a role playing exercise and this was super useful. Every now and then we would be put into pairs or threes and placed with one of the trainers. One of us would be given a scenario and would have to play the young person and the other would counsel them through this scenario. Now, reading what I just wrote, you might think this could feel awkward and so did I when I first heard we would be doing this but honestly, everyone is in the same boat and are so supportive of one another and you help each other through it. At the end of your training, they don't just throw you right in at the deep end and straight onto calls. You start to have 1-1 sessions with your supervisor and they will support you through listening in shifts to start you off. This is just you taking calls and your supervisor listening to you and offering any support and advice when you need it. I think this is the best way to get you started and it really does ease your nerves when you know you have someone to help you start off. I enjoyed my training so much and the way it was done was amazing. As you can imagine, at Childline we do hear and learn about some quite sensitive topics but the way the trainers dealt with this was brilliant. What you have to understand at Childline is that yes a young person might be feeling awful about something and it can be saddening but you are there to support them, you are helping them through this and perhaps listening to that young person when no one else will and it is so rewarding and one of the best things you could ever do. When you finish that contact you can feel so warm inside, knowing you have made a positive difference to that young persons life. Before I mentioned that at 16 I wanted to make a small positive difference in the world, but let me tell you, a positive difference made to one persons life to them can mean the world and it is huge.
If you are thinking about volunteering for Childline, I say do it. I am so happy that I went for it and I have had the best experience. At my interview I told them I was only thinking of volunteering for a year and then I was off to uni, but here I am, three and a half years later still loving it as much as the day I started. If you are at all worried about anything, the supervisors are always there to offer you their support, day or night, whether you are at the base or at home, they are only a phone call away. The supervisors really are such lovely, positive, and bubbly people and even if you need support 152 times on one shift, they will come to you and happily give you their support every single time, they are amazing people.
At the end of training we each got a piece of paper with a star on it and passed it around the room. We all wrote down something about the person the paper belonged to and passed them all back at the end. I am going to include a picture of mine because I think it is so encouraging and it really is one of the best things I have been given. I will keep this piece of paper forever.
Take care and be sunny!
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