A room to talk, where nobody is going to judge you.

Why this room exists

Most young people in Port Harcourt who are struggling do not tell anybody. Not because help is unavailable, but because of what they expect to happen when they speak: being told to pray harder, being asked what they have to be depressed about, having it repeated to a parent, or simply being judged.

So they carry it. Through exams, through heartbreak, through a family situation they cannot name, through a year that quietly got worse. By the time most of them talk to anyone, it has been a very long time.

You do not need a diagnosis to deserve an hour. You just need somewhere it is safe to say the true thing.

What people bring here

• Pressure — exams, university, the career your family has already decided on
• Anxiety that has stopped responding to the things that used to work
• Heartbreak, or a relationship you cannot talk about at home
• Family conflict, or a house that does not feel safe to be yourself in
• Feeling flat, numb, or far away from your own life
• Loneliness, including the kind that exists while surrounded by people
• Something that happened to you that you have never said out loud
• No particular reason. Just a sense that something is not right.

What this actually is

It is a real counselling session with a doctoral-trained psychologist. Fifty minutes, in person in Port Harcourt or on video.

The difference is not the standard of the work — it is the same standard. The difference is the price, set so that students and people early in their careers can actually reach it, and the starting point, which is listening rather than assessing.

Christie will not open by asking what is wrong with you. She will let you talk. She will not be shocked, she will not lecture you, and she will not tell you that your problem is small. If, after listening, she thinks something needs proper clinical attention, she will say so plainly and tell you what she would do about it.

What it is not

It is not a crisis service. Messages are not monitored overnight or at weekends. If you are not safe right now, the numbers at the bottom of this page answer twenty-four hours a day and they are free.

It is also not a cheaper version of something lesser. If what you need is longer-term work, Christie will tell you, and you can continue at the standard rate or she will refer you to someone who fits better.

What stays private

If you are 18 or over: everything. Nothing is shared with your family, your school, your church or your employer without your written consent.

If you are 16 or 17: a parent or guardian has to agree to the first session — that is the law, not a preference. But what you actually say in the room stays in the room. Christie does not report back on the content of your sessions. Your parent will know that you are attending; they will not be told what you said.

There are two exceptions at any age, and they exist to protect life: a serious and immediate risk to you or someone else, or a child at risk of harm. If either applies, Christie will tell you what she has to do before she does it.

Booking it

Choose a time and answer four short questions. They take about four minutes, and they mean Christie walks in already knowing roughly why you came, so you do not have to start from the beginning out loud.

If you are 16 or 17, the booking form asks for a parent or guardian's name and contact so consent can be confirmed before the session. Nothing you write in the form is shared with them.

If writing it down is the hard part, message the practice on WhatsApp and say so. That is a normal way to start.