Nicholas is a quiet 15 year old, living with his younger sister and mum.
His Dad has moved away to the South of England. Nicholas enjoys school and is doing well with his studies. He has a close knit group of friends but predominantly likes his own company, his computer games, music and skateboarding.
There were several incidents where Nicholas’ Mum could not get in contact with him, for hours at a time but never overnight. On each occasion, his mum reported him missing to the Police.
Nicholas was invited in for a chat to find out what he was doing when his mum wasn't able to contact him, to assess whether Nicholas was at risk and why he wanted his mum to worry and panic.
His mum also came in to the centre. Nicholas' parents had recently split up and Nicholas was finding it hard with his dad not being around. Nicholas wanted to punish his mum for his dad going away.
Nicholas’ worker took an unusual approach whilst he was engaging with the project, with many of his sessions being about music and lyrics and what they meant to Nicholas and how it made him feel. When his Mum couldn’t get in touch with him, Nicholas was engaging in risk-taking behaviour but would go to the cinema to be alone.
Nicholas and both his parents came together to agree that Nicholas could talk to his dad any time, he would always be there for him and that Nicholas and his mum should do more things together, such as going to the cinema.
Nicholas no longer runs away and has recently sat his G.C.S.E.s and is looking forward to going to College.
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Talk..Don't Walk is a service provided by The Relationships Centre. A registered charity in England and Wales. Registered Charity No. 1078372.