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More than a third of young carers have experienced problems with their mental wellbeing, according to new research.

to coincide with Young Carers Awareness Day (31 January) revealed because they are caring for someone and 32% feel 'worried'.

For 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor Ros Sewell these figures don鈥檛 come as a surprise.

She鈥檚 seen first-hand how young carers lives can be dominated by this full-time role, which can affect their school work, friendships, emotions and mental health.

But she also knows how counselling can help young carers; offering them much-needed support and a chance for their voice to be heard.

Isolated

鈥淎 lot of these young carers have the weight of the world on their shoulders all the time from a very young age. 聽It鈥檚 very difficult and they can feel very isolated,鈥� she said.

鈥淭here is often this acceptance of what they do, they talk about their lives in a very matter-of-fact way. It鈥檚 as if this is the most natural thing in the world to be caring for a parent, looking after a sibling and taking them to school, doing all the housework.

鈥淔or us, as counsellors, it鈥檚 about helping them become the centre of their lives again. It's often all about someone else's needs, rather than their own. It鈥檚 important for them to put their feelings first for once, and talk about how they are doing.聽 A counsellor is there to listen to them, make them the centre, value them and their feelings. That can really help the young people to value themselves more, and make different decisions.鈥�

厂辞尘别听22% of young carers responding to the survey, who had negative feelings about caring, said they did not speak to anyone about their feelings.

Only 6% said they would speak to a professional working in mental health services.聽

There are about 800,000 young carers aged between 11 and 18 in England, who give up their time to care for a parent or relative.

Ros is one of the leads at Here4You, a counselling service across four schools and colleges in London run by the Metanoia Institute.

She said that sometimes counselling is the first time a young person admits that they are caring for a family member.

鈥淪ometimes young carers will self-refer for counselling as they know they have a lot on their plate and they need to talk to someone.

Another perspective

鈥淏ut other times it is uncovered during counselling. Perhaps, their teachers have noticed that something is going on, that the child is struggling at school, they are always late or haven鈥檛 had time to do their work, and it only emerges during counselling that they are a young carer.

鈥淔or us it is about making sure they have enough support, but also just being there so they can talk about it and how they feel about it. It鈥檚 about having another perspective on their lives.

"We can鈥檛 change the situation that a parent is ill or needs care, but we can help the child find a way forward.鈥�

If you want to seek advice or help about children鈥檚 and young people鈥檚 mental health issues you can find a 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor or psychotherapist via our Therapist directory.