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When Oakley was referred by her GP to P3’s Wellbeing Service in Hillingdon, she was feeling low, socially withdrawn and had a lack of motivation. She was enrolled in college, but she didn’t attend most days, finding it difficult to get out of bed and suffering with feelings of loneliness and sadness.
Oakley had a difficult upbringing, facing verbal abuse from her mother following her parents’ divorce and severe bullying and racial abuse at school during her GCSEs –experiences that deeply affected both her results and her sense of self-worth.
Even after leaving school, Oakley said her anxiety stayed high, as she was living close to where the bullying happened and was constantly worried about running into the people who had hurt her. As her confidence continued to drop, she became increasingly isolated and was often too scared to leave the house.
When Oakley first came to P3, she was noticeably nervous, and it was clear that trust needed to be built before we could support her. Through gentle conversations and reassurance, her support worker was able to encourage Oakley to get outside, and they began holding their support sessions at the local gardens. As Oakley grew more comfortable, she started completing ‘best possible self’ worksheets and other tools that helped her imagine a brighter future and break her goals down into small, achievable steps.
As well as building her confidence, this process helped her reconnect with her creativity. She designed a logo for her aunt’s business and began exploring career paths in graphic design, which sparked her motivation to return to college. With her support worker’s help, Oakley also spent time identifying her strengths and building back her self-esteem, learning healthier ways to manage challenges and negative thoughts, and she eventually built up the courage to address the trauma she experienced growing up.
Although she was hesitant at first, Oakley began counselling. With that extra support, she became more engaged, attending P3’s summer activities across London – art in Hyde Park, rock climbing, cinema trips and bowling – and she began making new friends, which was a huge milestone after years of struggling to trust her peers.
Since then, Oakley’s confidence has continued to grow. She has retaken her GCSEs, enrolled back into college and regularly joins P3 events throughout the year. Right now, she’s focusing on her personal growth by continuing counselling, working on her mindset and going to the gym, actively building a future that feels connected and firmly her own.
When Islah first met the P3 wellbeing team in Hillingdon, she was regularly seeing her GP for anxiety and depression. She was referred to with the aim of rebuilding her confidence, daily routine and social connections.
Islah’s low self-esteem had been shaped by past experiences of bullying, which had a big impact on her mental health struggles. At the same time, she was undergoing intensive medication to treat severe acne, which came with depressive side effects that needed careful monitoring and regular adjustment.
Her support worker felt that weekly wellbeing sessions focused on self-esteem, building routines and gently facing anxiety triggers would help Islah recognise when she was finding things difficult, before things got too tough. Together, they worked with self-love resources, achievement boards and creative activities to help her rebuild a stronger sense of confidence and identity.
With the help of her support worker, Islah was referred into trauma counselling while Islah and her support worker practised everyday skills to boost her independence, like ordering food in public or paying at a till. These small steps made a big difference in helping Islah feel more capable and connected.
Today, Islah has re-enrolled in college, started driving lessons and taken on a part-time job at Waitrose. She’s built a daily routine filled with coping strategies, achievement tracking and self-reflection, working to build the skills to help her understand what she can manage on her own and when she might need to ask for extra support.
Six months later, with emotional, practical and social guidance, Islah has seen a huge boost in her confidence and a real shift in how she views herself. She says she’s incredibly grateful to her support worker, whose encouragement has helped kickstart a new chapter in her life.
Alec was referred to P3 Hillingdon’s Wellbeing Service during his GCSE year: a time when he was experiencing high levels of anxiety, intrusive thoughts and high stress. He was finding it hard to sleep, struggling to concentrate on schoolwork and finding social situations overwhelming, and all of this was taking a real toll on his daily life. Early on in his support journey with P3, Alec shared that he was being bullied at school – something that had deeply affected his confidence and self-esteem.
Alec also has an autism diagnosis and he found social situations especially challenging. He often felt lonely and frustrated, which added to his low mood. Although he had been accepted for support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), the long waiting time to receive support became another source of anxiety for him.
With GCSE pressures weighing heavily, Alec had a lot to manage, so he and his P3 support worker agreed a support plan that focused on setting healthy social boundaries and finding ways to navigate interactions with peers in a way that felt safer and more manageable for him.
As time went on, Alec built a strong, trusting relationship with his support worker, which gave him the space to talk openly about his thoughts, feelings and worries. Throughout his support journey, he learned and practised new techniques to help manage anxiety and challenge negative thoughts, which helped him to sleep better, start engaging in social activities and build healthier everyday routines.
One year on, Alec is now receiving support from CAMHS, which is helping him prepare for college and take steps towards greater independence. He says he’s proud of his exam results and feels more hopeful and confident about managing his mental health moving forward.
As a young person with autism and complex emotional and educational needs, Maisie found it hard to concentrate and stay engaged in school, and she eventually dropped out. After a few years out of mainstream education, re-engaging felt overwhelming. She came to P3’s wellbeing service looking for help with her social anxiety and support to find a way back into education.
Maisie’s journey so far had involved some significant challenges: difficulties with emotional regulation, anxiety around failure that made it tough to stay motivated, barriers to accessing specialist education and a loss of trust in support services due to previous bad experiences.
Despite these challenges, Maisie’s determination to return to the classroom was enough to commit to weekly wellbeing sessions with a support worker at P3’s Yiewsley Navigator. These sessions offered a mix of calming, therapeutic activities and creative outlets like writing, chess and painting, giving Maisie safe ways to express herself and explore new skills.
Building trust was a big part of Maisie’s support. She needed to feel that the people around her would truly listen and take the time to understand her experiences. Maisie’s support worker worked closely with a range of local agencies to give her complete wrap-around support, helping her build confidence and independence, but working alongside her so she didn’t have to navigate everything on her own.
Through career guidance, volunteering opportunities, psychological support and help with managing medication, Maisie began to build steadier routines at home, which made a huge difference to her confidence and her ability to rejoin formal education.
As she nears the end of her support journey with P3, Maisie’s shown incredible growth in emotional awareness over the last six months and has developed coping strategies through her sessions. With her confidence building, she re-engaged with the classroom and proudly passed her GCSE English exam (a milestone that meant a great deal to her). This success has put her on a great path for the future, opening the door to greater social participation, improved self-esteem and the self-belief to advocate for her needs with other services.
Dambisa was referred to P3 Charity by her social worker, who was worried about Dambisa’s wellbeing, as she had been struggling with her mental health for some time, which had been affecting her school engagement and her willingness to socialise. Spending most of her days in bed, Dambisa’s mum was also concerned about her, as she’d become noticeably anxious, had started self-harming and had difficulty doing everyday tasks like washing and eating.
Just before she started receiving support from P3, Dambisa received an autism diagnosis. Her social worker supported her and her mum to apply for a Child in Need plan, get clinical guidance around her diagnosis and secure extra help at school so she could learn in a trauma-informed and flexible environment.
When we first met Dambisa she struggled to leave the house, so her support worker visited her at home. Despite this, she still found it hard to join in with her sessions and often hid under her duvet. Her support worker recognised that we needed to take things slowly to build trust, adapting our approach to make Dambisa comfortable. To do this, her support worker used non-verbal gestures and visual tools to help Dambisa communicate in a way that felt safe. With patience, trust and lots of encouragement, Dambisa slowly began to verbally engage in her support sessions, and before long, she was showing real improvements in her self-care routine and personal hygiene.
As she settled into her new routine, Dambisa felt more confident exploring her feelings and sense of identity. Together with her support worker, she tried creative activities such as clay modelling, journaling and mood boards, all helping her express herself and think about what she wanted for her future.
A big part of Dambisa’s journey with P3 focused on building her confidence in her community. This meant practising everyday activities that had once felt overwhelming, like popping to the shops, attending dentist appointments and re-engaging with school.
With a collaborative team around her and her own determination, Dambisa has made huge steps forward in her mental and emotional wellbeing. She’s now looking ahead with confidence, excited to return to school and continue building on the self-care routines that help her feel grounded and supported.
*Please note names have been changed to protect identities
If you’re aged 13 to 25 and need support to improve your emotional health and well-being, we’re here to help. We offer up to 12 sessions of goal-based support, tailored to your needs and delivered in way that feels safe and comfortable, to help you to thrive and build a brighter future.
