We are so grateful for the support of the Pixel Fund for our work in improving young peoples' mental health. The funding enables us to help Londoners aged 18-25 to improve the quality of their lives via weekly psychotherapy at a cost of around £1,000 per person. 89% of the young people we help are students or are on low incomes. We support clients for up to two years, because for many that is the only way to effect meaningful change for deep rooted psychological problems. Younger people’s lives can benefit profoundly from the right kind of therapeutic intervention. If the work is successful, it can have a far-reaching positive effect on the course of their adult lives.
Covid-19 has complicated an already challenging array of problems that young people are experiencing. The spectre of mass youth unemployment, the anxiety created by the pandemic itself and by the resulting lockdown, including the effects it will have on studying, all make this a particularly pertinent time to focus on young people. We aim to provide a firm but flexible therapeutic experience which recognises that young people are in a transitional space between childhood and adulthood. Particular considerations which come into play involve whether and if so how the family should be worked with, as well as the level of risk.
In 2020 we plan to increase our service capacity by moving into the larger ground floor area of our current building. This will enable us to increase the numbers of younger clients supported, and the Pixel Fund's support is crucial in enabling us to make this growth.