Support for Those Who Spend Their Lives Supporting Others
Across York and the surrounding areas, thousands of people quietly provide care for someone they love.
They are partners supporting spouses with long-term illness. Parents caring for children with additional needs. Adults looking after ageing parents. Young people helping at home before and after school.
Carers are often described as “incredible”, “selfless” and “strong”. And while those words are true, they don’t tell the whole story.
Behind the strength, there is often exhaustion. Guilt. Worry. Loneliness.
Counselling offers a space in York where you can be supported too.
The Hidden Emotional Load of Caring
Caring doesn’t just involve practical tasks. It carries an emotional weight that builds over time.
- Feeling constantly on alert
- Struggling to switch off
- Snapping at small things
- Feeling invisible or overlooked
- Worrying about the future
- Grieving the life you expected
- Feeling guilty for wanting time to yourself
Many carers tell themselves they should simply “cope better”. But long-term caring can lead to chronic stress and burnout.
Having a confidential space to talk — without judgement, and without needing to protect anyone else — can make a significant difference.
Young Carers in York: Growing Up with Responsibility
Many young people in York take on caring roles at home. Some help with practical tasks. Others provide emotional support to a parent or sibling.
Young carers may:
- Feel different from their peers
- Miss social opportunities
- Struggle with anxiety
- Feel pressure to be “the responsible one”
- Worry about speaking openly
While local organisations such as York Carers Centre provide valuable community support, counselling offers individual space to talk privately and safely.
Therapy allows young people to be just that — young people — without carrying everything alone.
“I Don’t Have Time for Therapy”
This is something many carers say.
Between appointments, medication, school runs, work commitments and household responsibilities, finding time can feel impossible.
But your wellbeing directly impacts your ability to continue caring. Counselling is not about taking something away from the person you support — it’s about sustaining yourself.
Even short-term therapy can:
- Reduce anxiety and overwhelm
- Help you manage guilt
- Strengthen emotional boundaries
- Improve sleep and stress levels
- Reconnect you with your identity beyond caring
You are more than your caring role.
A Local, Confidential Space in York
Whether you live in York city centre, Acomb, Clifton, Haxby, Fulford or surrounding villages, support is accessible.
At Jorvik Talking Therapies, counselling offers:
- A calm, confidential setting
- A non-judgemental approach
- Support tailored to carers and young carers
- Flexible appointments where possible
You deserve time where the focus is entirely on you.
You Don’t Have to Carry It Alone
Carers often become experts at holding everything together. But even the strongest people need somewhere to put their feelings down.
If you are a carer or young carer in York and feel overwhelmed, stretched thin, or simply unheard, counselling can provide a space to breathe.
To explore support, please get in touch via www.jorviktalkingtherapies.co.uk
Because caring for yourself is not a luxury. It’s essential.