The Youth Fairy Guildford & Lightwater

The Youth Fairy Guildford & Lightwater We help them SMILE with happiness, SPARKLE with confidence and STRIVE to grow and succeed. We are both LGBTQ+ friendly therapists.

A modern, solution-focused approach to positive change for children, teens and young adults struggling with anxiety, stress, low mood, anger and low confidence. HelloπŸ‘‹ We are Sam and Sarah, therapists at The Youth Fairy, a team of solution-focused therapists who help children, teens and young adults struggling with anxiety, stress, anger, emotional control and low confidence. We use modern, brain-based approaches, including Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy, that actively encourage young people to:

🧚 Re-focus on the positive aspects of life
🧚 Recognise strengths
🧚 Improve quality of sleep
🧚 Engage more in positive activities
🧚 Engage more in positive interactions
🧚 Feel more emotionally in control

We both work with children from 6 years old to young adults and are able to adapt our approach to work with those with additional needs, special educational needs, disabilities and neurodiversity. Areas we work with include:

🧑 Anxiety
🧑 Stress
🧑 Low mood
🧑 Anger management
🧑 Social anxiety
🧑 Low self-esteem
🧑 Low confidence
🧑 Sports/exam performance
🧑 Fears and phobias
🧑 Exam stress and anxiety
🧑 Transition to secondary school/college
🧑 Trauma
🧑 Self-harm
🧑 Sleep problems

We are both extremely passionate about the solution-focused approach to therapy. It encourages children to focus on the positive changes in thoughts, feelings and behaviours they would like to make, without the need to dwell on the past. We look for solutions to problems and focus on how they want thing to be rather than how they don’t want them to be.

🧚About Sarah🧚

In addition to being a therapist, my 25 years experience as a nurse working in critical care, has given me a deep understanding of physical and emotional well-being. I have worked with children and their families at their most vulnerable, navigating both physical and mental challenges, including pain, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.

🧚About Sam🧚

I began my career as an osteopath and went on to specialise in paediatric osteopathy, helping children to navigate their emotional and physical health. Seeing the rise in children and young adults struggling with anxiety and depression, I realised I wanted to centre my work into helping young people with their mental health. This drove my desire to become a therapist and, of course, a Youth Fairy!

🌟 Next Steps 🌟

🧚Once you have chosen which of us you feel is right for your child, we offer a free, 1 hour initial consultation. This is an opportunity for us to meet, explore best hopes and discuss how we can help your child.

🧚 As well as helping young people make positive changes, educating them on their well-being is something we know to be an important part of the change process.

🧚 So, in the consultation, we'll explain to you and your child how the brain works (in an age-appropriate way) to create their specific problems and associated feelings, behaviours or symptoms and how we can help.

🌟 This understanding can be really motivational to children as they realise there is hope, see more clearly what we can do about it and supports them in developing more positive, healthy habits for life.

🌟 This knowledge is super helpful for you as a parent too - it allows for greater understanding, creates a common language to talk more easily with your child about their well-being and gives you specific ideas of how you can best support the process (and beyond). You’ll also get our relaxation audio download to help improve any sleep problems they are having and support the process. 😴😴😴

We both hold an up-to-date Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate and are proud members of the following professional bodies:

β€’ National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH)
β€’ Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (AfSFH)
β€’ Complementary and National Health Council (CNHC)
β€’ National Board of Modern Psychotherapy (NBMP)

🧚 Fairy thoughts as we head into the most exciting time of the year...Pass it on
04/12/2025

🧚 Fairy thoughts as we head into the most exciting time of the year...

Pass it on

πŸ’”On the Blog πŸ’”This week marks Grief Awareness Week, which runs from 2nd to the 8th December. Whilst many are buzzing wit...
03/12/2025

πŸ’”On the Blog πŸ’”

This week marks Grief Awareness Week, which runs from 2nd to the 8th December. Whilst many are buzzing with Christmas cheer and excitement, for some families the festive period is experienced with a heavy heart as the feelings of loss and grief for loved ones are felt even more keenly.

πŸ’” The time that marks family traditions and celebrations with family and friends who may be no longer with us can make this period a painful time of year. It is our hope, with this blog, that amongst the busy-ness of Christmas shopping and other preparations, that we can take a moment to pause and think of those families who may need some support right now, to help them through a difficult time of year, and in particular, to help provide information and support to help children cope with the initial stages of grief and beyond.

There is no right or wrong way to grieve and individuals will often experience a whole range of emotions, sometimes all at the same time.

To help understand the different emotions loss can bring, we look at the 7 stages of grief:

😒 Shock

😒 Denial

😒 Anger

😒 Bargaining

😒 Depression

😒 Acceptance and hope

There is no right or wrong way to grieve, the grieving process is completely individual. It is important that an individual grieves in their own way and at their own pace.

πŸ’” After someone has died, the body releases hormones and chemicals which triggers our β€œfight or flight” response.

πŸ’” Each day, small reminders of the loss can once again trigger this same stress response.

πŸ’” The left prefrontal cortex (our intellectual mind) takes a bit of a backseat and the primitive mind takes over.

πŸ’” The primitive mind only responds within the primitive parameters of depression, anxiety, anger or a combination of all three.

πŸ’” This can result in heightened anxiety and an inability to β€˜think straight’.

πŸ’” It is important to tell a child of any age when someone important in their lives has died, and ideally, this is done by someone who is closest to them. Children and young people tend to show their feelings with behaviours rather than words. Reactions will vary greatly as children start to process the information in different ways at different ages.

Today’s blog provides help and guidance on how to navigate these difficult, sensitive conversations, particularly at this difficult time of year, and offers support and further information on:

πŸ‘‰ The 7 stages of grief

πŸ‘‰ How to explain death to a child

πŸ‘‰ Signs to look out for in your child

πŸ‘‰ Activities to help them process grief and loss

πŸ‘‰ Where to go for further help and support

Take a read here:

https://www.theyouthfairy.com/understanding-grief

🧚 The Youth Fairy SPARKLE programme is designed to give children that extra superhero confidence to perform at their ver...
02/12/2025

🧚 The Youth Fairy SPARKLE programme is designed to give children that extra superhero confidence to perform at their very best when it counts. Areas we can help with include exam confidence, stage and sports performance, mindset blocks and public speaking.

It can help to...

βœ”οΈ Boost self-confidence and self-esteem
βœ”οΈ Confident mindset for performance; sport, stage, exams
βœ”οΈ Develop a positive 'can do' attitude
βœ”οΈ Discover own strengths and capabilities
βœ”οΈ Improved learning and memory capacity
βœ”οΈ Remain focused and confident under pressure
βœ”οΈ Develop resilience; bounce back, let things go
βœ”οΈ See challenge as an opportunity for growth
βœ”οΈ Optimise sleep quality

Find out more about the Sparkle programme

https://www.theyouthfairy.com/programmes/smile/

Dropping some Fairy   πŸ§šβ™‚οΈAlways Remember, Be Brave. πŸ’ͺEven if you are not...Pretend to be!No-one can tell the difference.
01/12/2025

Dropping some Fairy πŸ§šβ™‚οΈ

Always Remember, Be Brave. πŸ’ͺ
Even if you are not...
Pretend to be!
No-one can tell the difference.

A lovely day in Gloucestershire, visiting my gorgeous friend, walking the dog and enjoying the sunshine β˜€οΈ 36 years of f...
30/11/2025

A lovely day in Gloucestershire, visiting my gorgeous friend, walking the dog and enjoying the sunshine β˜€οΈ
36 years of friendship… and counting!

29/11/2025

This week our blog has been about friendship and the importance of good friends in our lives - why not share yours with us! 😁🫢πŸ₯°

28/11/2025

Thank you to Luke* for showing me what he has learnt about his brain using play doh! πŸ’ͺπŸ‘πŸ˜

We love our calming yet fun therapy space where children can explore the neuroscience behind their behaviours and learn to make changes that help them thrive.

*Names have been changed for confidentiality

Sharing some  ...Couldn't have said this better myself. 🧚
27/11/2025

Sharing some ...

Couldn't have said this better myself. 🧚

🌟 ON THE BLOG 🌟School can be a challenging time for friendships: Especially after school holidays or a big move when chi...
26/11/2025

🌟 ON THE BLOG 🌟

School can be a challenging time for friendships: Especially after school holidays or a big move when children are;

πŸ‘‰ reuniting with friends
πŸ‘‰ changing friendship groups or
πŸ‘‰ having to confront previous conflicts or
πŸ‘‰ breakdowns in friendships

Moving to a new school, can feel overwhelming and like starting friendships from scratch.

Friendships move to a new level with the move to secondary school around the age of 11 and through secondary school. Friendships become more intimate, mutually beneficial and two-sided.

🀯 Navigating friendships is not easy and it’s particularly difficult for our teenagers who are managing an influx of hormones.
🀯 Now let’s be clear, these hormones are largely responsible in encouraging our teens to lean towards being in a more reactive state, driven by fear or pleasure and any previous survival tactics.
🀯 Put this together with the fact that the others in their friendship circle are likely to be managing the same hormone influx and you can see why they are often having to navigate relationship conflict.

When our children have good friendships, they are better equipped to:

πŸ˜„ Deal with challenges that life throws at them
πŸ˜„ Develop the skills of empathy and reasoning
πŸ˜„ Build healthy boundaries and resilience
πŸ˜„ Learn to successfully navigate conflict.
πŸ˜„ Develop a sense of self and independence
πŸ˜„ Create an additional support network

We all need friends. We know that we are happier when we are part of a tribe. This tribe can be within our family but also often extends to our peers and the friendships we develop.

Friendship is good for our brain. Good friendship is good for our brain. Good friendships benefit us, they are good for our emotional and mental well-being. But good friendships do not come easily, they can be difficult to foster, manage and maintain.

So, what can we do to support our children in developing positive, healthy friendships?

Head on over to The Parent Pad to find:

πŸ‘‰ Tips for supporting your child to foster healthy relationships

πŸ‘‰ Ideas for helping them to better navigate conflict

πŸ‘‰ Links to further information and support

Take a read here: πŸ‘‡ πŸ‘‡ πŸ‘‡

https://www.theyouthfairy.com/friendships-and-fallouts

πŸ˜€ Time to SmileThe Youth Fairy SMILE programme works with children struggling with the symptoms and behaviours associate...
25/11/2025

πŸ˜€ Time to Smile

The Youth Fairy SMILE programme works with children struggling with the symptoms and behaviours associated with anxiety, stress, anger, excessive negativity and low confidence. It’s designed to help them regain a greater level of emotional resilience, control and develop a much more optimistic, positive and confident outlook on life. 🧚

It can help to...

✨ Boost feelings of overall happiness
✨ Feel calmer in everyday situations
✨ In control of thoughts, emotions, and reactions
✨ Increased confidence and self-recognition
✨ Develop a more positive attitude
✨ Interact with others more positively
✨ Cope better with life challenges
✨ Ditch unwanted habits: e.g device obsession
✨ Improve sleep problems

Find out more details at the website...

https://www.theyouthfairy.com/programmes/smile/

🧑 New week readyLet's do this πŸ’ͺ
24/11/2025

🧑 New week ready

Let's do this πŸ’ͺ

What a gorgeous day! 🌞 Taking advantage of the winter sun and going for a stroll into Godalming, perfect day for it. πŸ˜ŠπŸ‘
23/11/2025

What a gorgeous day! 🌞 Taking advantage of the winter sun and going for a stroll into Godalming, perfect day for it. πŸ˜ŠπŸ‘

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