ABC Counselling, Play Therapy & Family Solutions

30/10/2026

🎃👻 A Spooktacular Halloween at Transition Club! 👻🎃

We've been getting into the Halloween spirit at Transition Club, and what a fantastic effort from everyone involved in making the party so special!

From the fantastic decorations and amazing spooky food platters to all the little Halloween touches, the room looked absolutely brilliant! 🕷️🕸️

A huge thank you to all our staff, volunteers and peer mentors for putting in so much effort, helping with the preparations and making sure everything was ready. It was lovely to see everyone chipping in and working together!

And of course, a big thank you to all the young people for getting involved, bringing so much excitement and making the party so much fun! ❤️

It's the teamwork, enthusiasm and little moments like these that make Transition Club so special. We hope everyone had a spooktacular time!

Happy Halloween! 🎃🧡

30/10/2026

Jo and Katie have had a productive morning putting together our essential family packs! 📦💛

A huge thank you to the whole team for all your hard work and efforts throughout this week in preparing these packs.

Each pack contains a selection of everyday essentials to help support families in our local community. They will be shared with families attending our partnership schools, offering a little extra practical support to those who may need it.

We know that sometimes it's the little things that can make a big difference, and we hope these packs will help ease some of the pressure for local families.

It's lovely to see everyone coming together, showing kindness and making a positive difference in our community. We're so proud of the team and grateful for everyone's efforts! 💛

22/10/2026

🌈🧸 A Little Freshen-Up for Our Hartlepool Playroom! ✨💛

We’re delighted to share a little glimpse of our refreshed playroom in Hartlepool! 🎨🌟

These rooms are more than just places to play — they’re spaces where children and young people can build trust, make sense of their experiences and communicate feelings 💕🧸

We want every child who walks through our doors to feel welcome, comfortable and supported, and creating inviting spaces is one small but important part of the work we do here at ABC.

A special thank you to Angie for giving the Hartlepool playroom some well-deserved love and attention! 🥰 Your time and effort in helping to make the room feel fresh and welcoming are really appreciated.

We’re so grateful to everyone who helps us create spaces where children and young people can feel safe to be themselves. 💛🌈

21/10/2026

🎃👻 A HUGE THANK YOU! 👻🎃

A big thank you to Sam from Tesco Billingham for the kind donation of pumpkins for our Transition Club! 🧡

Our young people have an exciting few spooky weeks ahead, filled with pumpkin carving and a Halloween party! 🎃🕷️ We can’t wait to see their spooky creations and enjoy some Halloween fun together!

Your kindness and support help us create fun, memorable experiences for our young people, and we really appreciate it. 🧡

Thank you, Sam, and Tesco Billingham! 🎃💜

19/10/2026

✨ Our Playroom Makeover! ✨🧸🎨

We’re so excited to share our newly refreshed playroom here at ABC Counselling, Play Therapy & Family Solutions! 💛

Our playroom is a special space where children and young people can feel safe, explore their feelings, express themselves through play, and work through their emotions in a supportive and nurturing environment. 🧸💬

We’ve given the room a lovely refresh to make it an even more welcoming, calm and engaging space for the children and young people we support through our therapy sessions. 🌈✨

A HUGE thank you to our amazing therapists, Petra and Nicole, who gave up their weekend to transform the room! 🥰 Your time, hard work and dedication are so appreciated, and we’re incredibly grateful for everything you’ve done to make this space even more special.

At ABC, we believe that creating the right environment is an important part of helping children and young people feel comfortable, safe and ready to explore their thoughts and feelings. 💛

We can’t wait for our children and young people to enjoy their refreshed space!

Thank you again, Petra and Nicole! 💕

23/09/2026

💚 A little more from Lisa’s morning at Billingham South Primary School… 💚

As part of this morning’s wellbeing conversations, Lisa introduced parents to the Five Ways to Wellbeing — five simple things we can all build into everyday life to support our mental wellbeing. 🌱

✨ Connect – spending time with people who make us feel valued and supported.
🚶‍♀️ Be Active – finding ways to get moving that work for us.
🌸 Take Notice – slowing down, noticing what’s around us and appreciating the little things.
📚 Keep Learning – trying something new, developing a skill or simply discovering something that interests us.
💛 Give – doing something kind for someone else and enjoying the positive feelings that can come from giving.

Parents were encouraged to think about which of these they already make time for and which they might like to introduce a little more of into their everyday lives.

We also talked about how wellbeing doesn’t have to mean making big changes. Sometimes it can be as simple as a walk, a chat with a friend, taking five minutes to breathe, learning something new or doing something kind. 🌿

Thank you again to all the parents who joined in and took a little time for themselves this morning. 💚

23/09/2026

💚 A big thank you to the parents at Billingham South Primary School! 💚

A huge thank you to all the parents who stopped to say hello to Lisa, our Trainee CWP Therapist, this morning! 😊

Lisa had a lovely time chatting with parents about the support ABC Counselling, Play Therapy & Family Solutions can offer, including:

🌱 Therapy support for children and young people
🎒 Transition Club – supporting children as they prepare for the move to secondary school
💚 Parent Wellbeing – because looking after yourself is just as important as looking after others

Parents also had the opportunity to take part in our Wellbeing Pledge activity – making a small commitment to themselves and their own wellbeing. Sometimes, the simplest acts of self-care can make a big difference. 🌸

Thank you to everyone who took the time to stop, chat and get involved. It was wonderful to meet so many parents and have some positive conversations about looking after ourselves as well as our children. 💚

21/09/2026

💙 A HUGE Thank You to Kingsley! 💙

We would like to say a very big thank you to Kingsley for their incredibly generous donation of beautiful baby clothing, and treats 🧸👶💕

We are also extremely grateful for their kind monetary donation, which will help us to:

🎄 Purchase tickets for our Transition Club to attend the Christmas Pantomime 🎭✨
🎒 Create essential packs for children at one of our local Billingham schools, helping to provide families with some much-needed support.

Donations like this make such a meaningful difference to the children, young people and families we support within our local community. ❤️

Thank you, Kingsley Watts, for your generosity and for helping us to support local children and families. Your kindness is very much appreciated! 🌟

ABC Counselling, Play Therapy & Family Solutions 💙

04/09/2026

🎉 End of Year Transition Club Party at ABC! 🎉

What a wonderful way to celebrate the end of another fantastic year at ABC! 💙

This week, we celebrated our End of Year Transition Club Party, bringing together our Thursday and Friday Club pupils for an afternoon of fun, celebration and plenty of smiles! 🎈🎊

For our Thursday Club pupils, it was a special opportunity to celebrate their time with us before they take their next big step into secondary school. We are incredibly proud of each and every one of them and wish them the very best as they begin this exciting new chapter. 🌟📚

Some of our Thursday Club pupils will be continuing their journey with us by joining Friday Club, and we are so pleased that we’ll get to see them continue to grow and flourish at ABC. 💙

We’ve had such a wonderful year together, filled with laughter, friendships, achievements and lots of memorable moments. It’s always a little bittersweet saying goodbye, but we are so excited to welcome a new group of Year 6 pupils to Thursday Club and begin another fantastic year together! 🥳

A huge well done to all of our pupils — we are so proud of you! 🌈✨

Good luck to everyone starting secondary school, and we look forward to seeing our returning pupils and welcoming our new Thursday Club members! 💙🎉

12/08/2026

💜 Raising Awareness: Support for Young People 💜

Last week, we at ABC had the opportunity to meet with PAPYRUS, a charity dedicated to the prevention of young su***de and supporting young people who may be struggling or feeling unsafe.

Our meeting was a valuable opportunity to learn more about the work PAPYRUS does and the support available to young people, as well as how we can continue to raise awareness and help young people know where they can turn when they need support.

We wanted to share information about HOPELINE 24/7, PAPYRUS's free and confidential support service. Young people can contact the service if they are experiencing thoughts of su***de, feeling overwhelmed or struggling, and support is also available for anyone who is worried about a young person.

📞 Call: 0300 102 2470
📱 Text: HOPE to 88247
📧 Email: [email protected]
💻 Webchat: Available through the PAPYRUS website when the service is open

HOPELINE 24/7 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The trained advisers are there to listen without judgement, offer support and help young people work towards staying safe.

Importantly, you don't have to wait until you're in crisis to reach out. If something doesn't feel right, or you're struggling and don't know where to turn, it's okay to ask for help. You don't need to have the right words — simply reaching out is a positive first step.

If you're worried about a young person, you can also contact HOPELINE 24/7 for advice and support about how to start a conversation and how best to support them.

At ABC, we believe that early support, open conversations and knowing where to turn can make a real difference. 💜

To find out more about PAPYRUS and the support they provide, visit:

Papyrus is a young person's su***de prevention charity. We provide urgent support through HopeLine 24/7, training, campaigns and conversations that save…