"Teenage granddaughter suffering from anxiety"

My two youngest granddaughters aged 13 and 10 came to stay with me when domestic abuse, alcohol abuse and parental mental health impacted their life. My oldest granddaughter who is 18 stays with me permanently and has done so for several years. Both parents were at fault and although I knew there were problems I didn’t understand the severity of the situation and the impact in the girls.

At the age of 64 and my husband is 69 we had our first dealings with social work and this was a huge shock to us. The girls were put in the child protection register and we had weekly visits from social work.

My daughter, their mother has been unwell with various mental health issues for the past four or five years and was particularly nasty to her middle child. 

The impact on their daughter has been drastic and she has gone from a happy outgoing confident child to one racked with self doubt, anxiety, low self esteem and no confidence in herself. She started getting into minor trouble at school and could be cheeky and aggressive.

As part of her plan a school nurse, Pauline visited to assess the girls. The anxiety and lack of confidence was picked up on and weekly sessions with Pauline were offered. As she didn’t want the school involved Pauline came to the house in normal clothes and quickly built up a rapport with her, gaining her trust, not an easy thing to do.

With Pauline’s help and guidance she can now cope better with her feelings, she can see all her positive points and feels more worthy.

We had visitors the other night, strangers to her, and she joined in the conversation and laughed heartily like the young girl I remember.

Pauline has given her coping strategies and confidence in herself.

My youngest granddaughter has now returned home and things are a lot more settled. I don’t think the middle child will return home but she does visit her parents and stays on an odd occasion.

Without Pauline’s help I would have struggled to cope with her as her behaviour was worsening.

I can’t thank Pauline enough for her patience and perseverance as my granddaughter can shut herself off and refuse to interact or cooperate with people if she’s not sure of them.

Well done Pauline and once again thank you.