when life with young people feels hard
Life with children and young people can be challenging.
Getting ready for school, eating meals, or settling at bedtime can turn into repeated arguments, shutdowns, or emotional overwhelm and that can feel exhausting for parents and carers.
This is completely normal. There is no such thing as a “naughty” child. Behaviour is always communication, often expressing feelings linked to anxiety, sensory overload, unmet needs, or stress that are difficult to put into words. Young people’s brains are still developing emotional regulation skills, so feelings are often shown through behaviour first.
Understanding this can help us respond with curiosity and care, particularly when daily life feels like a constant battle.
Why Creativity can help -
Creativity offers young people a natural way to express complex feelings without needing the right words. Creative activities can help calm the nervous system, support emotional regulation, and reduce stress responses in the body, especially after busy or overwhelming days.
Research shows that creativity supports emotional processing by engaging sensory and emotional areas of the brain, helping young people feel safer and more settled. This can be particularly supportive for neurodivergent children, those with sensory sensitivities, or young people experiencing emotionally based school avoidance.
I believe behaviour is always trying to tell us something. Creativity creates space for feelings to be expressed gently, at a child’s own pace, without pressure to explain or perform.
Drawing and Talking (1:1 Support)
Drawing and Talking is a gentle, evidence-informed intervention used across UK schools to support emotional wellbeing and emotional expression in children and young people.
A young person attends weekly one-to-one sessions, at the same time and place, for 12 weeks. Sessions last for 30-minutes and involve drawing freely and, if they wish, talking about their drawing with a trained practitioner. There is no expectation to talk if they are not ready.
This consistent, predictable structure can support children who find change difficult, helping them explore feelings, build emotional understanding, and feel more regulated over time.
I am a registered Drawing and Talking Practitioner and offer sessions in a calm, supportive way, with sensitivity to neurodivergent needs and emotional safety.
Find out more about Drawing and talking
