Sam Heald Counselling Services

09/12/2025

Jelly Beanz
As we head into the holidays. Give the gift of knowledge, be their safe place and have open conversations 🙏🏼

✨ 16 Days of Activism: 16 Ways to Protect Against Digital Violence ✨
Digital violence affects women and children every day — from online harassment to grooming, stalking, coercion, and image-based abuse. Here are 16 practical ways we can all help create safer online spaces:

1️⃣ Talk about online boundaries – Help children and adults understand what safe and unsafe digital behaviour looks like.
2️⃣ Trust the “uh-oh” feeling – If something feels uncomfortable online, pause and speak to a safe person.
3️⃣ Use privacy settings – Limiting who sees your content helps reduce unwanted contact.
4️⃣ Keep devices in shared spaces – This encourages openness and makes it easier to notice unsafe interactions.
5️⃣ Know the red flags – Pressure for photos, monitoring, threats, secrecy, or controlling behaviour are all signs of harm.
6️⃣ Save evidence – Keep screenshots or messages in case reporting becomes necessary.
7️⃣ Report harmful behaviour – Every platform has reporting tools to stop harassment and abuse.
8️⃣ Block abusive accounts – Blocking is a simple, powerful safety tool for both adults and children.
9️⃣ Teach consent for photos and videos – No sharing without permission — even within families.
🔟 Create a safe adult list – Children should know exactly who they can turn to if something feels wrong.
1️⃣1️⃣ Respond without blame – Survivors need support, not judgement or shame.
1️⃣2️⃣ Protect personal information – Avoid sharing details that could be used to track, follow, or manipulate someone.
1️⃣3️⃣ Use strong passwords – A secure password can prevent hacking, impersonation, and harassment.
1️⃣4️⃣ Talk openly about image-based abuse – Explain that threats or sharing images without consent are never the victim’s fault.
1️⃣5️⃣ Encourage tech breaks – Time away from screens helps reduce overwhelm and digital pressure.
1️⃣6️⃣ Know where to go for help – Keep emergency numbers and support services accessible.

💛 Together, we can make the digital world safer for women and children.

09/12/2025

Credit Psychotherapy Memes

We therapists talk about the phrase, “meet people where they are” a lot, but it’s so easy to lose sight of its deep virtue, especially when you have clients with very acute needs or you’re dealing with tough insurance or agency standards. Sometimes you’re also swayed by your own biases or countertransference- you might assume YOU know exactly what the client needs.

But to meet people where they are is to offer them true attunement and respect. We don’t get to dictate timelines or outcomes- these variables are never within our control. What we do get to control is how steady and curious we remain. We control our capacity to hold the frame, maintain the container, AND offer a consistent presence as much as possible.

I always find Carl Rogers immensely grounding with his quote: “In my early professional years I was asking the question: How can I treat, or cure, or change this person? Now I would phrase the question in this way: How can I provide a relationship which this person may use for his own personal growth?”♥️

28/11/2025

It’s so important to have gentle, ongoing conversations about online safety. When children know who their safe adults are—people they can talk to without fear of judgment—they feel anchored and protected. These trusted relationships are what keep children safe, both online and offline.”
Credit Jelly Beanz

The story about 13 year old Thandi....

Online abuse is a daily REALITY!

SPEAK UP! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

26/11/2025

Respecting our child’s choices, giving them autonomy oh how they hug, when they hug is the first step in protecting them from future abuse.

25/11/2025

16 Days of Activism. Let’s raise awareness and end violence against women and children.
Credit Jelly Beanz

16 Days of Activism reminds us that violence doesn’t only happen in streets and homes — it now follows children and women into their phones, games, and online spaces.

The numbers are a wake-up call:

• **UNICEF found that over 80% of children** across 25 countries feel unsafe online — from harassment to sexual exploitation.
• **73% of women have experienced online abuse**, according to UN Women, including threats, stalking, image-based violence, and hate.
• **Girls are twice as likely as boys** to face online sexual exploitation, while boys are more often targeted with online bullying linked to pressure to “be tough” or “man up.”

Digital violence is silent — no bruises, no broken windows — but the emotional pain, trauma, and shame are real. It affects mental health, school performance, and sense of safety.

During these 16 days, let’s make noise for those who can’t.
Speak up. Report abuse. Believe survivors. Teach children digital boundaries. Demand safer platforms!

24/11/2025

Tips for managing anxiety 🙏🏼
Credit SACAP

How to deal with anxiety is a question that many people ask. This is because everyone feels anxious at some point. Where people differ is how it impacts

20/11/2025

Counsellors registered with the ASCHP make a difference in every corner of South Africa — from schools and clinics to
community organisations and wellness centres. 🌍 We’re proud to represent
professionals who provide quality, ethical, and compassionate care within their defined scope of practice. 💙

🔹 NationallyRecognised
🔹 Community-Focused
🔹 ProfessionallySupervised

19/11/2025

It can be scary not knowing how to support someone through a mental health crisis.
In South Africa will help direct individuals and family to get the help they need.
Credit Magnolia Counseling Associates

14/11/2025

I’ve just finished reading No Body’s Girl, Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s memoir of surviving abuse and fighting for justice.

What struck me most was how childhood sexual abuse — and a mother who turned away instead of protecting her — created the perfect storm that allowed her to be groomed, r***d, and trafficked as a young girl. Virginia’s story reflects a heartbreaking reality faced by so many children: being disbelieved, dismissed, or abandoned by the very adults who are meant to shield them.

Her memoir exposes the cost of that failure. Childhood innocence stolen. Secrets forced behind locked doors. Children made to “prove” what happened to them. Burdened with guilt and shame that never belonged to them. Re-traumatised each time they have to speak their truth again and again, hoping that this time someone will listen.

For every person who wasn’t believed, who was silenced or ignored, I want you to know:
I believe you.

13/11/2025

The power of being present 🧡

Mental Health Movement

07/11/2025

Share far and wide. Let’s start important conversations 🙏🏼
Jelly Beanz

📢 Today, 6 November 2025, we join UNESCO and the world in observing the International Day Against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyber-bullying.
Every child has a right to learn in a safe, welcoming environment—whether in the classroom or online.

📊 Did you know?
• Globally, about one in three school-aged children report being victims of bullying in or around school. 
• An estimated 246 million children and adolescents each year experience violence or bullying in the school environment. 
• More than one-third of young people in 30 countries said they had been the target of online bullying; of those, about one in five reported skipping school because of it. 
• Children who are seen as “different” (for example by appearance, ability, or background) are at higher risk of being bullied. 

📌 Why it matters:
When children face bullying or violence, their learning, mental health and overall wellbeing suffer. They may avoid school, find it harder to concentrate, or withdraw socially. That’s why creating safe, inclusive school settings and safe online spaces isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s essential.

🤝 What we can do:
• Encourage schools, caregivers and online communities to adopt clear policies against all forms of bullying.
• Foster open conversations with children about their online experiences (“chatrooms”/online practices) as well as their in-person relationships.
• Promote empathy, respect and peer-support behaviours—when bystanders speak up, bullying has less space to grow.

🔗 Let’s commit to ensuring every child can participate fully in education, feel safe, and thrive without fear of harassment—whether in the classroom or the chatroom.