As part of our commitment to providing timely, accessible mental health support, we’ve been piloting Single Session Therapy (SST) across our Schools Therapy service, Calderdale Mental Health Support Team (MHST), and Open Minds (CAMHS).
This approach offers young people the opportunity to explore a specific issue in a focused, one-off session - helping them feel heard, supported, and better equipped to move forward.
What is Single Session Therapy?
SST is a focused, one-off therapeutic session designed to help a young person explore a specific issue, leaving with strategies and a clearer sense of direction to best support them going forwards. For SST to be effective, it needs to be offered as close to the time that the need for support is identified, typically within a week of support being sought.
SST is a focused, one-off therapeutic session designed to help a young person explore a specific issue, leaving with strategies and a clearer sense of direction to best support them going forwards.
Although it’s not a replacement for ongoing therapy, it can be a powerful intervention for those who need support in the moment.
To ensure our team felt confident delivering SST, we invited leading psychotherapist, SST specialist and author Professor Windy Dryden to deliver a two-day training session. This training, combined with our own systems and processes, formed the foundation of a model for delivering SST across our services.
Piloting SST in Leeds
We’ve been piloting SST in a number of secondary schools in Leeds, offering sessions to students aged 14 and above. School pastoral teams were briefed on referral criteria, and students completed a pre-session form and a questionnaire to help shape the session and assess clinical risk.
Here’s a look at three of the young people who took part, and the impact SST had on them.
Finding flexibility in a fixed mindset
Student A, a Year 11 student with a diagnosis of Autism, ADHD and dyspraxia, was referred due to difficulties with peer relationships and school systems. They described feeling overwhelmed and unsure how to resolve a specific dilemma.
In their session, Student A was supported to unpack a specific dilemma involving a school incident. They reflected on how their current coping strategies, such as shouting in lessons, weren’t helping, and began to explore more adaptive responses. The therapist encouraged Student A to consider whether a more flexible mindset might help, and together they identified that school staff had already offered some helpful solutions.
By the end of the session, Student A had created an action plan and asked the therapist to share their concerns with school. They left feeling more hopeful and empowered.
Reclaiming control
Student B, a Year 12 student, was experiencing anxiety and memory blocks during exams, which were affecting their confidence and raising concerns about their academic future.
During their SST session, they explored underlying factors such as perfectionism, low self-esteem, and pressure to succeed, particularly in the context of being part of an academic family. The therapist introduced the concept of the stress response and polyvagal theory, helping Student B understand how anxiety might be impacting their memory. They also discussed practical grounding techniques to use during exams.
Student B left with a personalised action plan and a renewed focus on self-compassion.
Building confidence to speak and be heard
Student C, a Year 9 student, came to the session feeling extremely anxious and unsure how to express their emotions. They had been finding school tests particularly difficult and were struggling with low self-esteem.
To help structure the conversation, the therapist used a visual spider diagram based on the student’s referral and pre-session form. This encouraged Student C to open up about feelings of comparison and not being good enough. They were introduced to Brene Brown’s guideposts to whole-hearted living, which helped them reflect on the importance of self-compassion and letting go of perfectionism.
Family dynamics also emerged as a source of stress, and the therapist created space for these to be explored. A referral was made for ongoing counselling to continue this work.
Shaping the future of our support
The early feedback from young people so far has been encouraging. Many have left their sessions feeling more understood, equipped, and hopeful. While we know that not every challenge can be resolved in a single session, SST has already shown its value as a meaningful first step for many.
We’ll continue to learn from this pilot across our services and explore how SST can sit alongside our wider mental health offer, helping us respond to young people’s needs with flexibility, compassion, and care.
