Sporting souls

 

Many of the young people we support have been referred due to risks around violence, criminal or sexual exploitation, or serious mental health concerns. These are young people who would not normally walk into a therapy room, so we meet them in different ways.

 

We go into schools, youth settings and young offender institutions, bringing together professional MMA coaches and qualified clinical psychotherapists to deliver sessions side by side. The sport element builds aspiration and trust. Young people train with real competing coaches who model discipline, resilience and emotional control. Through movement, they release pressure, regain focus and discover they are capable of more than they believed.

 

Once that trust is built, our clinicians lead structured group therapy conversations. Because participants no longer feel labelled or targeted, they feel safer being vulnerable. They begin to talk about trauma, exploitation, identity and the pressures shaping their lives.

 

Commissioned by the Home Office, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, Violence Reduction Units and individual schools, Sporting Souls has been adapted for boys and girls across multiple settings. For several participants, this is the first time they feel strong enough and safe enough to speak about what they have experienced. Physical strength becomes emotional strength, and sport becomes a pathway to healing.