Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
For me the number one thing is how rewarding it is to see the change in the young people as they go through counselling. Sometimes their whole demeanour changes and when I read the evaluation forms from young people who’ve completed their counselling, I am always struck by what an impact the Youth Talk service has – it literally saves lives.
There’s a really lovely atmosphere in the office, it’s a brilliant team which means that even though it can be challenging and stressful at times, there is also fantastic support and we are all motivated to make coming to counselling the best possible experience for the young people and we do all we can to put them at ease.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
What do you enjoy about working for Youth Talk?
For me the number one thing is how rewarding it is to see the change in the young people as they go through counselling. Sometimes their whole demeanour changes and when I read the evaluation forms from young people who’ve completed their counselling, I am always struck by what an impact the Youth Talk service has – it literally saves lives.
There’s a really lovely atmosphere in the office, it’s a brilliant team which means that even though it can be challenging and stressful at times, there is also fantastic support and we are all motivated to make coming to counselling the best possible experience for the young people and we do all we can to put them at ease.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
What do you enjoy about working for Youth Talk?
For me the number one thing is how rewarding it is to see the change in the young people as they go through counselling. Sometimes their whole demeanour changes and when I read the evaluation forms from young people who’ve completed their counselling, I am always struck by what an impact the Youth Talk service has – it literally saves lives.
There’s a really lovely atmosphere in the office, it’s a brilliant team which means that even though it can be challenging and stressful at times, there is also fantastic support and we are all motivated to make coming to counselling the best possible experience for the young people and we do all we can to put them at ease.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
Can you tell us about your role and what it involves on a day-to-day basis?
As a clinical receptionist, I am meeting and greeting the young people as they arrive for their appointments, so I’m often the first person they meet and many of them are very nervous when they arrive, so I do my best to put them at ease.
Another important part of the role is managing the waiting list – as spaces become available, we contact those on the waitlist and set up their appointments. As demand for our services has grown, we also must carefully manage expectations about how long they might have to wait to access counselling.
Youth Talk speaks directly to the young person, and this can add challenges in terms of getting hold of them which can make this process quite time consuming. We’ve recently introduced a texting service which really helps. Since most young people self-refer via our website, we must then contact them and speak to them to understand what help they need and to ensure we have all their details correctly captured in our database.
There are lots of different tasks to juggle, there is never a dull moment, and the role is really varied. Fortunately, everyone at Youth Talk is absolutely lovely and so we all pitch in as a team.
What do you enjoy about working for Youth Talk?
For me the number one thing is how rewarding it is to see the change in the young people as they go through counselling. Sometimes their whole demeanour changes and when I read the evaluation forms from young people who’ve completed their counselling, I am always struck by what an impact the Youth Talk service has – it literally saves lives.
There’s a really lovely atmosphere in the office, it’s a brilliant team which means that even though it can be challenging and stressful at times, there is also fantastic support and we are all motivated to make coming to counselling the best possible experience for the young people and we do all we can to put them at ease.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
Can you tell us about your role and what it involves on a day-to-day basis?
As a clinical receptionist, I am meeting and greeting the young people as they arrive for their appointments, so I’m often the first person they meet and many of them are very nervous when they arrive, so I do my best to put them at ease.
Another important part of the role is managing the waiting list – as spaces become available, we contact those on the waitlist and set up their appointments. As demand for our services has grown, we also must carefully manage expectations about how long they might have to wait to access counselling.
Youth Talk speaks directly to the young person, and this can add challenges in terms of getting hold of them which can make this process quite time consuming. We’ve recently introduced a texting service which really helps. Since most young people self-refer via our website, we must then contact them and speak to them to understand what help they need and to ensure we have all their details correctly captured in our database.
There are lots of different tasks to juggle, there is never a dull moment, and the role is really varied. Fortunately, everyone at Youth Talk is absolutely lovely and so we all pitch in as a team.
What do you enjoy about working for Youth Talk?
For me the number one thing is how rewarding it is to see the change in the young people as they go through counselling. Sometimes their whole demeanour changes and when I read the evaluation forms from young people who’ve completed their counselling, I am always struck by what an impact the Youth Talk service has – it literally saves lives.
There’s a really lovely atmosphere in the office, it’s a brilliant team which means that even though it can be challenging and stressful at times, there is also fantastic support and we are all motivated to make coming to counselling the best possible experience for the young people and we do all we can to put them at ease.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
How did you first get involved with Youth Talk?
I’d not heard of Youth Talk when I saw the job advertised in a local paper, but I was working at a GP surgery at the time and one of the doctors knew of Youth Talk and recommended I should apply.
My background is in social care, I have always enjoyed the sense of purpose that it gave me, which is also true for working at Youth Talk as I see the difference it makes to young people’s lives. I started in 2009 so I’ve worked here for nearly 15 years now; over that time Youth Talk has grown hugely and so has the role!
Can you tell us about your role and what it involves on a day-to-day basis?
As a clinical receptionist, I am meeting and greeting the young people as they arrive for their appointments, so I’m often the first person they meet and many of them are very nervous when they arrive, so I do my best to put them at ease.
Another important part of the role is managing the waiting list – as spaces become available, we contact those on the waitlist and set up their appointments. As demand for our services has grown, we also must carefully manage expectations about how long they might have to wait to access counselling.
Youth Talk speaks directly to the young person, and this can add challenges in terms of getting hold of them which can make this process quite time consuming. We’ve recently introduced a texting service which really helps. Since most young people self-refer via our website, we must then contact them and speak to them to understand what help they need and to ensure we have all their details correctly captured in our database.
There are lots of different tasks to juggle, there is never a dull moment, and the role is really varied. Fortunately, everyone at Youth Talk is absolutely lovely and so we all pitch in as a team.
What do you enjoy about working for Youth Talk?
For me the number one thing is how rewarding it is to see the change in the young people as they go through counselling. Sometimes their whole demeanour changes and when I read the evaluation forms from young people who’ve completed their counselling, I am always struck by what an impact the Youth Talk service has – it literally saves lives.
There’s a really lovely atmosphere in the office, it’s a brilliant team which means that even though it can be challenging and stressful at times, there is also fantastic support and we are all motivated to make coming to counselling the best possible experience for the young people and we do all we can to put them at ease.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
Youth Talk’s team of 4 clinical receptionists are not just a friendly face when young people arrive for counselling – they also manage the waiting list for the service; organise appointments and update and maintain contact details and records; in addition, they provide full administrative support to the counsellors and the rest of the Youth Talk team.
Interview by Sarah Coleman, Volunteer
How did you first get involved with Youth Talk?
I’d not heard of Youth Talk when I saw the job advertised in a local paper, but I was working at a GP surgery at the time and one of the doctors knew of Youth Talk and recommended I should apply.
My background is in social care, I have always enjoyed the sense of purpose that it gave me, which is also true for working at Youth Talk as I see the difference it makes to young people’s lives. I started in 2009 so I’ve worked here for nearly 15 years now; over that time Youth Talk has grown hugely and so has the role!
Can you tell us about your role and what it involves on a day-to-day basis?
As a clinical receptionist, I am meeting and greeting the young people as they arrive for their appointments, so I’m often the first person they meet and many of them are very nervous when they arrive, so I do my best to put them at ease.
Another important part of the role is managing the waiting list – as spaces become available, we contact those on the waitlist and set up their appointments. As demand for our services has grown, we also must carefully manage expectations about how long they might have to wait to access counselling.
Youth Talk speaks directly to the young person, and this can add challenges in terms of getting hold of them which can make this process quite time consuming. We’ve recently introduced a texting service which really helps. Since most young people self-refer via our website, we must then contact them and speak to them to understand what help they need and to ensure we have all their details correctly captured in our database.
There are lots of different tasks to juggle, there is never a dull moment, and the role is really varied. Fortunately, everyone at Youth Talk is absolutely lovely and so we all pitch in as a team.
What do you enjoy about working for Youth Talk?
For me the number one thing is how rewarding it is to see the change in the young people as they go through counselling. Sometimes their whole demeanour changes and when I read the evaluation forms from young people who’ve completed their counselling, I am always struck by what an impact the Youth Talk service has – it literally saves lives.
There’s a really lovely atmosphere in the office, it’s a brilliant team which means that even though it can be challenging and stressful at times, there is also fantastic support and we are all motivated to make coming to counselling the best possible experience for the young people and we do all we can to put them at ease.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
Meet Gill who joined Youth Talk in 2009
Meet Gill from our Clinical Reception Team. Gill joined Youth Talk in 2009 and for many young people, she is the first point of contact they have, she loves the fact that her job involves helping others.
Youth Talk’s team of 4 clinical receptionists are not just a friendly face when young people arrive for counselling – they also manage the waiting list for the service; organise appointments and update and maintain contact details and records; in addition, they provide full administrative support to the counsellors and the rest of the Youth Talk team.
Interview by Sarah Coleman, Volunteer
How did you first get involved with Youth Talk?
I’d not heard of Youth Talk when I saw the job advertised in a local paper, but I was working at a GP surgery at the time and one of the doctors knew of Youth Talk and recommended I should apply.
My background is in social care, I have always enjoyed the sense of purpose that it gave me, which is also true for working at Youth Talk as I see the difference it makes to young people’s lives. I started in 2009 so I’ve worked here for nearly 15 years now; over that time Youth Talk has grown hugely and so has the role!
Can you tell us about your role and what it involves on a day-to-day basis?
As a clinical receptionist, I am meeting and greeting the young people as they arrive for their appointments, so I’m often the first person they meet and many of them are very nervous when they arrive, so I do my best to put them at ease.
Another important part of the role is managing the waiting list – as spaces become available, we contact those on the waitlist and set up their appointments. As demand for our services has grown, we also must carefully manage expectations about how long they might have to wait to access counselling.
Youth Talk speaks directly to the young person, and this can add challenges in terms of getting hold of them which can make this process quite time consuming. We’ve recently introduced a texting service which really helps. Since most young people self-refer via our website, we must then contact them and speak to them to understand what help they need and to ensure we have all their details correctly captured in our database.
There are lots of different tasks to juggle, there is never a dull moment, and the role is really varied. Fortunately, everyone at Youth Talk is absolutely lovely and so we all pitch in as a team.
What do you enjoy about working for Youth Talk?
For me the number one thing is how rewarding it is to see the change in the young people as they go through counselling. Sometimes their whole demeanour changes and when I read the evaluation forms from young people who’ve completed their counselling, I am always struck by what an impact the Youth Talk service has – it literally saves lives.
There’s a really lovely atmosphere in the office, it’s a brilliant team which means that even though it can be challenging and stressful at times, there is also fantastic support and we are all motivated to make coming to counselling the best possible experience for the young people and we do all we can to put them at ease.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
Meet Gill who joined Youth Talk in 2009
Meet Gill from our Clinical Reception Team. Gill joined Youth Talk in 2009 and for many young people, she is the first point of contact they have, she loves the fact that her job involves helping others.
Youth Talk’s team of 4 clinical receptionists are not just a friendly face when young people arrive for counselling – they also manage the waiting list for the service; organise appointments and update and maintain contact details and records; in addition, they provide full administrative support to the counsellors and the rest of the Youth Talk team.
Interview by Sarah Coleman, Volunteer
How did you first get involved with Youth Talk?
I’d not heard of Youth Talk when I saw the job advertised in a local paper, but I was working at a GP surgery at the time and one of the doctors knew of Youth Talk and recommended I should apply.
My background is in social care, I have always enjoyed the sense of purpose that it gave me, which is also true for working at Youth Talk as I see the difference it makes to young people’s lives. I started in 2009 so I’ve worked here for nearly 15 years now; over that time Youth Talk has grown hugely and so has the role!
Can you tell us about your role and what it involves on a day-to-day basis?
As a clinical receptionist, I am meeting and greeting the young people as they arrive for their appointments, so I’m often the first person they meet and many of them are very nervous when they arrive, so I do my best to put them at ease.
Another important part of the role is managing the waiting list – as spaces become available, we contact those on the waitlist and set up their appointments. As demand for our services has grown, we also must carefully manage expectations about how long they might have to wait to access counselling.
Youth Talk speaks directly to the young person, and this can add challenges in terms of getting hold of them which can make this process quite time consuming. We’ve recently introduced a texting service which really helps. Since most young people self-refer via our website, we must then contact them and speak to them to understand what help they need and to ensure we have all their details correctly captured in our database.
There are lots of different tasks to juggle, there is never a dull moment, and the role is really varied. Fortunately, everyone at Youth Talk is absolutely lovely and so we all pitch in as a team.
What do you enjoy about working for Youth Talk?
For me the number one thing is how rewarding it is to see the change in the young people as they go through counselling. Sometimes their whole demeanour changes and when I read the evaluation forms from young people who’ve completed their counselling, I am always struck by what an impact the Youth Talk service has – it literally saves lives.
There’s a really lovely atmosphere in the office, it’s a brilliant team which means that even though it can be challenging and stressful at times, there is also fantastic support and we are all motivated to make coming to counselling the best possible experience for the young people and we do all we can to put them at ease.
How has Youth Talk evolved over the time you’ve been involved?
Like I said, the charity has grown significantly over the 15 years I have worked here. We are offering so many more counselling sessions now in response to unprecedented demand for counselling. It’s great to see less stigma attached to talking about our mental health but sadly there are also many more young people in dire need of our services.
Since moving into our larger premises at London Road we are now able to offer group counselling sessions. We’ve also moved away from being paper-based and embraced digitalisation which was a big project, but we are reaping the benefits now from improved efficiencies.
It’s also important to say that whilst we are a bigger organisation and offer more sessions, our ethos has not changed, and our mission continues to be to provide the best mental health support to young people in St. Albans and the surrounding area.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I work 3 days a week at Youth Talk, which leaves me plenty of time for my hobbies which include walking with friends, dance classes and playing badminton. I’ve also just become a grandma and so I’m working out how to fit in supporting my daughter and the new baby as they live quite far away.
Gill’s work as a clinical receptionist means she is the first point of contact for many young people accessing Youth Talk’s services and can immediately put them at ease. Her role is also critical for the smooth running of our counselling service as Gill and her colleagues juggle appointment bookings, updating records and supporting the counsellors with all their administrative requirements.
