BEING a teenager can be testing at the best of times, but imagine feeling like you are wrestling with your doubts, fears and problems alone and unsuccessfully, with no one to talk to.

But youngsters needn’t feel alone any more, thanks to a £40 an hour initiative set up by counsellors to help teenagers talk about, manage and resolve their issues and become happier and healthier young adults.

Counsellor Carl Adams and his business partner Lucinda Lidstone, a psychotherapist, set up the Adolescent Support Clinic late last year.

Carl, 44, who trained and worked with counselling group Relate, said: “Lucinda came to me with the idea and I agreed it was a good one. We both feel there is so little youth therapy out there, and we wanted to change that.

“I was dealing with youths at Relate, but the funding got pulled. Recently Connexions youth services lost its funding too and although they didn’t provide therapy they did a lot of good work for young people.

“I feel it’s very important to help young people deal with their problems. If they don’t sort whatever is troubling them when they are young they will turn into troubled young adults.“ The pair treat youngsters aged from 13 to 19 and operate their clinic within the Yoga Dharma centre in Southchurch Road, Southend.

Official referrals to the service are not necessary, and teenagers themselves as well as parents can either sign youngsters up for sessions.

Carl explained: “Some of our older teens have come along of their own accord, and the younger ones tend to have the decision made for them by their parents.

“Some of the older clients are old enough to know they have issues, and they want to sort them out.

“When parents bring children along they do it because they know they are troubled or because their behaviour is causing problems at home or school.

“Some are very willing to come and are bursting to talk and are ready to do so, whereas there are others who can be very shy.

“I’ve not had many who resent coming, but we do see children who don’t know how to articulate what they have going on.”

Creating a bond between counsellor and client is very important, and Carl and Lucinda work hard to establish a relationship of trust and respect, even if at first it appears a client is unwilling to talk.

Carl said: “Some children completely avoid the issue and will talk for weeks about anything other than their issues, but that’s also a way of establishing their trust in us, and they do eventually open up.”

So far the clinic has seen more females than males, but regardless of gender the type of issues being raised by teens is the same.

Carl said: “We see everything from self-esteem issues, people suffering panic attacks, family issues, drugs issues, it’s a real range of issues. The fastest growing area we are seeing is children who have family problems.”

Carl feels that by addressing a person’s problems and issues when they are young, they can go on to avoid going down the wrong road as an adult.

He said: “If you look at society today, we always talk about dropping standards, but I think the reason there are so many people having bad things happen to them is because they had issues in their youth which they never resolved, and they go on to be maladjusted.

“If you can help troubled people when they are young, and help them sort out their issues then you will have helped them make the most of themselves.”

Carl feels the shift to a more open attitude to therapy, similar to that in the USA, is helping more youngsters and families see there is nothing to be ashamed of and a lot to be gained by going to see a therapist.

He added: “Over here we used to have that stiff-upper-lip thing, but there’s slowly becoming more awareness of therapy, and there’s less stigma than there used to be, and although it’s still there more and more people are willing to bring their children along.

“People can think they are being stronger if they sort it out themselves, and feel going to counselling is weak. Sometimes parents can feel they have failed their children if they can’t deal with their issues themselves, but they don’t need to feel like that.”

Carl and Lucinda run their youth sessions around three days a week, depending on demand, and sessions are tailored to meet the needs of each individual.

The clinic is clearly more than just a job for Carl, who admits being moved almost to tears by thank you messages he has received from grateful youngsters.

He said: “I feel incredibly fulfilled and moved by what we do, and very proud of the children when they make progress and feel able to leave us.

“They come in and they work so hard, I always say to clients that they are the ones doing all the work.

“To see them come out the other side happy and well balanced is a wonderful feeling.”

To contact the clinic visit yogadharma.co.uk/therapy/ adolescent-support-clinic or call Mr Adams on 07950 964524 or Miss Lidstone on 07765 390614.