Behavioural health coaching combines emotional support with practical guidance. It is structured, one-to-one, non-clinical support for people whose everyday life has become harder to manage than it should be. It focuses on the present: the routines, coping skills and confidence that make daily life work again. It is not therapy, and no diagnosis is needed to start.
Behavioural health coaching is a well-established approach, used within the NHS and in the US, Canada and Australia. The NHS describes coaching as helping people “gain and use the knowledge, skills and confidence” to reach their own health and wellbeing goals. Research with young people suggests it can help with low mood, anxiety and stress.
Read what the evidence tells us about behavioural health coaching.
A Coach is trained on frameworks and techniques drawn from evidence-based approaches, including cognitive behavioural techniques, positive psychology, and performance coaching methods such as goal-setting and accountability. They help young people notice unhelpful patterns and try practical alternatives, regulate their emotions and build the practical skills to cope with pressure. The focus is on making changes now, not on analysing the past.
Each session starts with what’s happening in the young person’s life. The Coach helps them work through difficulties, find practical ways forward and agree what to try before they next meet. That might mean establishing a morning routine, managing anxiety about a social situation or finding a way to start work they have been avoiding. At the next session, they look at what worked and what needs adjusting. As these changes become more familiar, the young person builds confidence in managing more for themselves.
Synapse coaching is for young people whose difficulties are getting in the way of daily life: routines, motivation, coping with stress, school, work and relationships. It is practical and present-focused. The Coach helps your child set goals, try out strategies and build habits that make everyday life more manageable. It does not diagnose or treat a mental health condition, and it is clinically supervised throughout.
Therapy covers many approaches and is delivered by a registered therapist. It can work on a mental health condition in more depth, sometimes including past experiences, and may be the right step when difficulties are more severe or longer-lasting.
The two are not either-or. The clinical assessment decides what your child needs. Some young people need coaching alone. Some need therapy as well, and we bring in a registered therapist from our network and coordinate them with the Coach. Some need specialist care, and we will help you find it. Why therapy isn’t always the first step.
Synapse provides behavioural health coaching for young people aged 11 to 25 and their families, with clinical supervision throughout.
We work with young people aged 11 to 25 who have mild to moderate emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties, including heavy gaming, social media or phone use, and early gambling, alcohol or drug use. We tailor coaching to your child’s stage of life: at school, at university or college, or starting out. See what we help with and who we support.
Our Coaches are trained by us and selected for relatability. All of them bring lived experience relevant to the young people they support, and many are close to them in age, which helps young people open up.
Read Meet our Coaches
Every programme runs within a clinically supervised framework. Our Coaches are supervised weekly by our clinical team, led by Thomas Watt-Pringle, Assistant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead, with Dr Harriet Mellotte, Chartered Clinical Psychologist, as supervising Clinical Psychologist. The clinical team reviews each care plan, deals with any emerging concerns and makes sure a need for specialist care is picked up early.
Read Meet our clinical team.
1. Get in touch. Complete our short enquiry form or call us. Mollie will normally respond within one working day. There is no waiting list.
2. A first conversation with Mollie. Mollie talks with you about what has been happening for your child and what you hope might change. It is at no charge, with no commitment.
3. Clinical assessment. Thomas Watt-Pringle, our Assistant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead, carries out a clinical assessment, usually within a week, considering suitability and what support is needed. You receive a written report and personalised care plan three days later. If another form of support would be more suitable, we explain why and help you find it.
4. Your child’s Coach and support team. We match your child with a Coach they are likely to relate to. Where therapy is needed, a trusted, qualified therapist works alongside the Coach, and Synapse coordinates the team.
5. Meet your Coach. Your child meets their proposed Coach first. Coaching only starts when your child is comfortable with the match.
6. Coaching begins. Coaching can begin as soon as diaries allow. See Our programmes for how sessions run and what they cost.
Synapse is not a crisis service. If your child is in crisis or in immediate danger, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. See our urgent support page for other services. Coaching is also not suitable where therapy has been required by a court or another authority.
We refer on when a young person has suicidal plans or is in crisis, has an eating disorder with medical risk, or is dependent on substances or gambling. Self-harm at moderate risk, eating difficulties and OCD need a clinician involved alongside coaching.
Read: See what we help with.
The first conversation is at no charge, with no commitment. Mollie will listen to what is happening and talk you through the next step.
Send us a few details using the short form and Mollie will be in touch within one working day. If you would rather speak now, call us on 0204 592 1268.
