Some young people are in crisis and need specialist clinical care. Many are not. But they are no longer coping well day to day. Routines are slipping, motivation has dropped, emotions are harder to manage, and everyday life is getting harder.
You try to talk, to help, to motivate, and nothing seems to land. That is the space behavioural health coaching was built for.
Behavioural health coaching combines emotional support with practical guidance. It draws on psychological principles to help young people cope with the emotional, behavioural and practical demands of everyday life.
It is present-focused and practical. Sessions look at what has been difficult, what needs to change and what the young person will try before the next session. It is not therapy and it is not tutoring, 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.
Coaching is for mild to moderate difficulties that are starting to affect daily life. That often includes:
Working one-to-one with a Coach, young people learn to:
Coaching gives your child support with what they are facing now. It also builds skills they keep: confidence, coping and the ability to recover from setbacks. The aim is for your child to manage more for themselves over time, not to depend on their Coach.
Coaching at Synapse is delivered by a trained, relatable Coach. Every Synapse Coach has lived experience young people relate to, and many are close in age to the young people they support. Every Coach is trained by Synapse, DBS checked and supervised weekly by our clinical team.
This is at the heart of how Synapse works:
A relatable Coach builds the relationship.
The relationship creates engagement.
Engagement makes implementation possible.
Implementation creates change that lasts.
Implementation means using what they work on with their Coach in daily life between sessions: getting up for school, starting the assignment, handling the difficult moment differently.
We match each young person with a Coach carefully, and your child meets their Coach before deciding whether to go ahead.
Coaching is not a crisis service. It is not the right fit for a young person in crisis, with an eating disorder that carries medical risk, or with a dependence on alcohol, drugs or gambling. Self-harm at moderate risk, eating difficulties and OCD need a clinician involved alongside coaching. If coaching is not right, we will say so and help you find what is. If your child is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E.
Every programme begins with a clinical assessment. Synapse considers suitability and what support is needed, and builds a personalised care plan. Coaching is usually weekly, online (50 minutes) or in person (90 minutes). Read how Coaching works and see our programmes and fees.
The first conversation with Mollie is at no charge, with no commitment. Mollie replies within one working day.
