The Spark Blog
Category: mental health
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From Home to Halls: A Mentally Healthy Approach to Starting Uni
Many university freshers are eager to move from home to halls and embrace ‘student life’ to the full. Moving out is part of growing up. It plays a crucial role in personal development and allows you to have a lot more freedom. However, moving to a new area, starting a new course, finding new social…
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![An Unconventional Valentine’s Gift]()
An Unconventional Valentine’s Gift
Although Valentine’s Day provides an opportunity for many couples to celebrate their love and commitment to one another, for others it can be a stark reminder that being in a relationship can be tough. While flowers, chocolates and fancy dinners are all lovely gestures, what if there was a gift that can truly enhance your…
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![3 Exam Myths Busted]()
3 Exam Myths Busted
Exams are on the horizon for young people up and down the country. So we decided it was time to bust a few exam myths that can create unnecessary stress and anxiety before exams. Poor exam results will ruin your life Exams are a part of your development and growth as an individual. They are…
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![Turning Bad Exam Stress into Good Exam Stress]()
Turning Bad Exam Stress into Good Exam Stress
Is there such a thing as good exam stress? If you are in your fourth or fifth year at high school, you may be experiencing exams for the first time. You will have had tests – and plenty of them – in the past, but this is different. Instead of sitting in a classroom surrounded…
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![Starting Secondary School: A Guide for Parents]()
Starting Secondary School: A Guide for Parents
Starting secondary school can be daunting for children and their parents. To help smooth the transition, our team of children and young people counsellors have put together their top tips on helping your child prepare for starting secondary school. Ask: how are you feeling about starting secondary school? Every child is different when it comes…
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![Scribble Game: How to Help Kids Relax and Open Up About Emotions]()
Scribble Game: How to Help Kids Relax and Open Up About Emotions
Edith Kramer, a pioneer in the field of Art Psychotherapy, created the ‘scribble game’ for use in the early stages of therapy. Her idea was to create an unthreatening way for children to express themselves and open up about emotional issues. In this article, Children and Young People Counsellor Sinead Rowe looks at how the…
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![How to Help a Young Person Understand Their Intelligence Type]()
How to Help a Young Person Understand Their Intelligence Type
For young people, exams are the primary measure of their ‘achievement’. Exams define how we categorise our children and what level of ‘intelligence’ society considers them to possess. Anyone who has struggled at school will understand the negative impact it can have and how unfair it is to be considered as lacking intelligence simply because…
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![What Young Adults Wish You Knew About Adolescence]()
What Young Adults Wish You Knew About Adolescence
During adolescence, the brain remodels intensively until the individual has reached their mid-20s. Up until that time the decisions, moods and emotions of a young adult are in a state of flux. The front of the brain – the prefrontal cortex – is the last section to be remodelled and is the part of the…
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![The Challenge of Learning to Trust Others]()
The Challenge of Learning to Trust Others
The Oxford Dictionary defines trust as “a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something”. Right now, you probably have a list of names that come to mind of people you trust and, perhaps, people you don’t. But what enables us to have a ‘firm belief’ that others will do…
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