Youth Talk are a St Albans based charity that has provided confidential counselling/psychotherapy to young people aged between 13-25 years old in the Harpenden and surrounding areas of the St Albans district for over 26 years. Harpenden Building Society are proud to have a multi-year funding commitment with them to provide free counselling, both online and in person, to young people with mental health issues.

In 2023, they provided more than 3,500 counselling sessions free of charge to young individuals who live, study, or work in these communities. Since 1997 thousands of young people have trusted Youth Talk to help them. Over the last few years all of our lives have changed. Young people in particular have faced unprecedented demands, disruptions and uncertainties, and demand for Youth Talk’s free, confidential counselling service has reached unprecedented and worrying new heights.

Youth Talk firmly believe that young people should have a safe space to confidentially express their thoughts and concerns. Through their counselling services, they focus on early intervention, aiming to address mental health issues at their early stages and prevent them from escalating in the future.

Youth Talk’s mission: To provide the best possible mental health support to young people in St Albans and surrounding areas.

Over the next five years, some key areas of focus for Youth Talk are:

1. Growing the service
• Double the total number of counselling sessions offered
• Introduce a group-based counselling provision
• Invest in additional counselling resource and clinical supervisors

2. Extending the reach
• Support for 17–19-year-olds during any transition period when moving to University
• Focus on encouraging under-represented groups to access the service

3. Platforms for growth
• Ensuring appropriate provision in IT, clinical systems and supporter database
• Invest in fundraising resource
• Invest in and develop a volunteer programme

"On behalf of Youth Talk, I would like express my sincere gratitude to Harpenden Building Society for their unwavering support over the past three years and beyond. Their dedication to support our cause has been instrumental in helping us transform and change the lives of many local young people struggling with their mental health and emotional wellbeing."

David Barker, Chief Executive,
Youth Talk

You can visit Youth Talk's website here: https://youthtalk.org.uk/

You can also hear from Youth Talk's CEO David Barker in this video: https://vimeo.com/919729659